QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near San Diego, CA

USGS: 30km SW of Coronado, CA

43 km (27 mi) SW of San Diego, CA · 36 km (22 mi) WSW of National City, CA

10:45 pm PDT, Sep 22, 2017 · · 16 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

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10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 83 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
10:45 pm PDT on 22 September 2017 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) SW of San Diego, CA · earthquakes near San Diego
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 83 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
San Diego Trough fault, 5 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 3263 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) SW of San Diego, CA, at 10:45 pm PDT on 22 September 2017 (05:45 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 32.5255, -117.4415. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 83 km (52 mi) NE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 63km WSW of Rosarito, B.C., MX
  2. 1.6 6km ESE of Chula Vista, CA
  3. 1.6 17km SW of La Jolla, CA
  4. 1.6 5km W of Chula Vista, CA
  5. 1.9 13km WSW of Coronado, CA
  6. 1.6 4km NNE of Imperial Beach, CA
  7. 1.9 46km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
  8. 1.8 33km W of La Jolla, CA
  9. 1.5 13km WSW of Coronado, CA
  10. 1.9 14km SW of Rosarito, B.C., MX
  11. 1.6 2km ENE of San Ysidro, CA
  12. 1.8 56km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
  13. 2.6 63km WSW of Rosarito, B.C., MX
  14. 2.2 48km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
  15. 1.9 29km SW of La Jolla, 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.