Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5mw
Earthquake near Campo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Campo in the 24 hours to 10:53 pm PST (06:53 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 122 km (76 mi) E, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Campo
This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Campo, CA, at 5:25 pm PST on 15 December 2016 (01:25 UTC), 10 km deep. 24 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16km NW of Ocotillo, CA
94 km (58 mi) E of San Diego, CA
- When
- 5:25 pm PST on 15 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Campo, CA · earthquakes near Campo
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (mw)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 24 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 64 km WNW
- 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 1610 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Campo, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Campo, CA. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 63 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Campo, 40 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: Pine Valley 37 km, intensity II · Campo 40 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.6× more
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 4.0 on 2016-07-31 — about 6.2 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 36 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 39 km N of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 33 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 43 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 41 km N 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 32.8300, -116.1285. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Imperial County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Riverside County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | N | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
27 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 14km SW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 4km E of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.5 2km SE of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.7 10km SSE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.9 13km E of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.4 10km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 3.0 10km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.8 12km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 17km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.8 15km E of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.8 15km E of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 15km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.1 17km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.5 18km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.8 17km WNW 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
- 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.