Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Palm Springs, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Palm Springs in the 24 hours to 11:50 pm PST (07:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 37 km (23 mi) SSE, at 5:01 pm PDT on 30 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Palm Springs
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) northeast of Palm Springs, CA, at 9:40 pm PST on 30 January 2019 (05:40 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NNE of Palm Springs, CA
in Cathedral City, CA · 131 km (81 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 9:40 pm PST on 30 January 2019 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) northeast of Palm Springs, CA · earthquakes near Palm Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 48 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 1 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 2842 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Palm Springs, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Palm Springs, 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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Palm Springs, 6 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: Palm Springs 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 99,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 32 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 48 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 20 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 20 km NE 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 33.8650, -116.5000. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Orange County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Imperial County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
38 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 19km ESE of Anza, CA
- 3.1 10km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.5 14km N of Banning, CA
- 1.9 6km NE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.6 8km SSE of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.6 13km ENE of Coachella, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.8 5km E of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.6 6km SSE of Banning, CA
- 2.3 15km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 5km E of Calimesa, CA
- 1.7 22km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.8 11km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.7 6km S of Banning, 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.