Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Temecula, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Temecula in the 24 hours to 3:44 pm PST (23:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 4 km (2 mi) NE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Temecula
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA, at 3:27 pm PDT on 15 October 2016 (22:27 UTC), 5.2 km deep.
USGS: 5km NW of Palomar Observatory, CA
68 km (42 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 25 km (15 mi) ESE of Temecula, CA
- When
- 3:27 pm PDT on 15 October 2016 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA · earthquakes near Temecula
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 42 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore 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 3677 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Temecula, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Temecula, 26 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: Aguanga 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 260,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 42 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 39 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 35 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 10km ESE of Anza, CA · 34 km ENE 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 33.3907, -116.8943. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 91 km (56 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Riverside 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 13km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.2 12km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 17km WNW of Anza, CA
- 1.5 10km NNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 10km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.6 11km NNW of Anza, CA
- 2.5 10km NNW of Anza, CA
- 2.5 10km NNW of Anza, CA
- 2.7 12km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 2km E of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.6 7km ESE of Valle Vista, CA
- 2.4 8km NNW of Julian, CA
- 2.6 4km WSW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.8 16km SSE of Hemet, CA
- 2.2 17km S of Hemet, 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.