Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Coachella, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coachella in the 24 hours to 3:45 pm PST (23:45 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 167 km (104 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Coachella
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) south of Coachella, CA, at 11:20 am PDT on 21 August 2016 (18:20 UTC), 1.3 km deep.
USGS: 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
53 km (33 mi) SSE of Indio, CA · 108 km (67 mi) ENE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 11:20 am PDT on 21 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 46 km (28 mi) south of Coachella, CA · earthquakes near Coachella
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 52 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3733 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Coachella, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Coachella, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Salton City 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 75,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 45 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 10 km S of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 37 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 4 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 36 km SE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 33.2715, -116.1080. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | N | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Imperial County, CA | 75 km (46 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 7km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 3.3 7km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 1.9 7km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 2.8 7km S of Bombay Beach, CA
- 2.7 6km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 1.8 6km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 1.7 7km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 1.8 6km S of Bombay Beach, CA
- 1.6 7km S of Bombay Beach, CA
- 2.2 17km NE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 12km W of Niland, CA
- 2.6 13km WSW of Niland, CA
- 2.5 11km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 12km W of Niland, CA
- 1.5 9km WNW of Calipatria, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.