QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Imperial, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Imperial in the 24 hours to 9:11 pm PST (05:11 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 59 km (37 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Imperial

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northeast of Imperial, CA, at 4:13 am PST on 15 November 2016 (12:13 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 7km NE of Imperial, CA

4:13 am PST, Nov 15, 2016 · · 10 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Imperial Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 22 kmRiverside County 102 kmSan Diego County 117 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
4:13 am PST on 15 November 2016 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) northeast of Imperial, CA · earthquakes near Imperial
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Imperial County, 22 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Brawley Seismic Zone, 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 3563 days ago

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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Imperial, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: Imperial 7 km, intensity II · Brawley 9 km, intensity II · El Centro 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 4.3 on 2016-09-27 — about 2,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 38 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 15 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 30 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 3 km E 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 32.8987, -115.5270. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 22 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA 102 km (64 mi) NNW earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 117 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near San Diego County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  2. 2.0 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  3. 1.9 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  4. 2.1 6km SW of Holtville, CA
  5. 2.2 6km SW of Holtville, CA
  6. 2.5 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  7. 2.8 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  8. 1.7 9km NE of Mexicali, B.C., MX
  9. 1.9 8km SW of Holtville, CA
  10. 2.9 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  11. 1.7 11km S of Holtville, CA
  12. 1.6 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  13. 1.8 7km WSW of Holtville, CA
  14. 2.1 7km WSW of Holtville, CA
  15. 1.7 9km SSW of Progreso, B.C., MX

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.