Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Brawley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Brawley in the 24 hours to 6:17 am PST (14:17 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 69 km (43 mi) SSE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Brawley
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-southwest of Brawley, CA, at 4:36 pm PST on 31 December 2016 (00:36 UTC), 5.9 km deep.
USGS: 3km WSW of Brawley, CA
- When
- 4:36 pm PST on 31 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west-southwest of Brawley, CA · earthquakes near Brawley
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 21 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Brawley Seismic Zone, 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 3564 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Brawley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Brawley, CA. No account or email needed.
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Brawley, 3 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: Brawley 3 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 36 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 21 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 21 km W of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 28 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 38 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 9 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 32.9660, -115.5565. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 21 km (13 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Riverside County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 114 km (71 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
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 1km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 2.1 3km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 2.3 3km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 1.7 4km SW of Brawley, CA
- 1.7 4km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 1.6 3km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 1.6 2km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 1.8 2km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 2.0 2km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 1.7 2km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 2.0 2km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 2.2 2km SW of Brawley, CA
- 2.1 2km WSW of Brawley, CA
- 1.7 2km SW of Brawley, CA
- 1.6 2km WSW of Brawley, 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.