Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Pine Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pine Valley in the 24 hours to 3:39 am PST (11:39 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) east-northeast of Pine Valley, CA, at 12:05 am PST on 18 December 2018 (08:05 UTC), 4.7 km deep.
USGS: 24km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
78 km (48 mi) E of San Diego, CA
- When
- 12:05 am PST on 18 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) east-northeast of Pine Valley, CA · earthquakes near Pine Valley
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 44 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore 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 2886 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pine Valley, CA
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Alerts are on for .
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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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Pine Valley, 24 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Descanso.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 46 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 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 49 km E of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 34 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 36 km NNE 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 32.9293, -116.3125. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 44 km (28 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Imperial County, CA | 90 km (56 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
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 19km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 8km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 26km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
- 1.6 9km NNW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 3km W of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 16km NW of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.8 16km NW of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.8 15km NE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.0 16km ESE of Julian, CA
- 1.6 21km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 1.8 8km ENE of Julian, CA
- 1.6 8km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 8km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 8km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 8km ENE of Julian, 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.