QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Pine Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Pine Valley in the 24 hours to 4:38 am PST (12:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 6 km (4 mi) NW, at 2:04 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 17 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pine Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) east-northeast of Pine Valley, CA, at 11:51 am PDT on 18 June 2017 (18:51 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 27km ENE of Pine Valley, CA

82 km (51 mi) E of San Diego, CA

11:51 am PDT, Jun 18, 2017 · · 12 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pine Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 50 kmImperial County 86 kmRiverside County 94 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
11:51 am PDT on 18 June 2017 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) east-northeast of Pine Valley, CA · earthquakes near Pine Valley
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 50 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, 10 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 3432 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Pine Valley, 27 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 4.0 on 2016-07-31 — about 4,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 45 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 33 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 48 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 32.9142, -116.2610. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 50 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 86 km (53 mi) E earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA 94 km (58 mi) NNE earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 22km SW of Westmorland, CA
  2. 1.6 6km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
  3. 1.6 23km WSW of Westmorland, CA
  4. 1.9 7km S of Borrego Springs, CA
  5. 1.8 14km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  6. 1.9 14km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  7. 1.5 7km E of Borrego Springs, CA
  8. 1.6 9km ESE of San Diego Country Estates, CA
  9. 1.7 9km ESE of San Diego Country Estates, CA
  10. 1.6 24km WSW of Westmorland, CA
  11. 1.7 12km NNW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  12. 1.8 11km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  13. 1.7 16km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  14. 1.8 15km ESE of Julian, CA
  15. 1.6 11km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, 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

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