Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Coachella, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coachella in the 24 hours to 6:06 pm PST (02:06 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east-northeast of Coachella, CA, at 3:17 am PST on 23 February 2017 (11:17 UTC), 2.4 km deep.
USGS: 16km ENE of Coachella, CA
19 km (12 mi) E of Indio, CA · 147 km (91 mi) NE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 3:17 am PST on 23 February 2017 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) east-northeast of Coachella, CA · earthquakes near Coachella
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 4 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mecca Hills fault, 11 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 3466 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Coachella, 16 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: Coachella 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 35 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 37 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 41 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 2km SSW of Joshua Tree, California · 49 km NW 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 33.7582, -116.0287. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 4 km (2 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 107 km (67 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.0 19km ENE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 1.6 21km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.9 21km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.8 21km NE of Coachella, CA
- 2.4 21km NE of Coachella, CA
- 2.0 21km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.8 21km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.8 31km SE of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 2.2 12km N of Indio, CA
- 1.5 24km S of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 2.0 12km N of Indio, CA
- 1.5 5km ENE of North Shore, CA
- 1.9 10km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 1.8 18km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 28km NE of Indio, 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.