Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9mw
Earthquake near El Centro, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 5:41 am PST (13:41 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 54 km (33 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near El Centro
This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA, at 5:48 am PST on 29 November 2018 (13:48 UTC), 11 km deep. 358 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 20km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- When
- 5:48 am PST on 29 November 2018 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (mw)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 358 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 59 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto 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 1600 days ago
Earthquake alerts for El Centro, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near El Centro, 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 89 km (55 mi) from the epicentre. In El Centro, 47 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: Salton City 32 km, intensity III · Brawley 43 km, intensity III · Imperial 43 km, intensity III · Borrego Springs 45 km, intensity II · Calipatria 46 km, intensity II · El Centro 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 680× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 480× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 11 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 23× 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 4.3 on 2016-09-27 — about 4.3 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 36 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 21 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 13 km E of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 47 km ESE 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 33.0140, -115.9867. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | E | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 80 km (49 mi) | N | 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.
- 2.4 11km SSW of Salton City, CA
- 1.5 10km SSW of Salton City, CA
- 1.6 10km SSW of Salton City, CA
- 1.6 12km WNW of Imperial, CA
- 2.8 16km ESE of Julian, CA
- 1.8 25km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
- 1.6 11km WSW of Niland, CA
- 1.9 15km ESE of Julian, CA
- 1.7 20km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.0 13km ESE of Julian, CA
- 2.0 8km NE of Imperial, CA
- 1.7 8km NE of Imperial, CA
- 1.8 8km NE of Imperial, CA
- 1.7 8km NE of Imperial, CA
- 1.5 8km NE of Imperial, 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.