Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Imperial, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Imperial in the 24 hours to 2:26 am PST (10:26 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 59 km (37 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 Imperial
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) southwest of Imperial, CA, at 4:12 am PDT on 14 July 2018 (11:12 UTC), 9.9 km deep.
USGS: 4km SW of Imperial, CA
- When
- 4:12 am PDT on 14 July 2018 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) southwest of Imperial, CA · earthquakes near Imperial
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 34 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, 9 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 3030 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Imperial, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Imperial, 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Imperial, 4 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: El Centro, Seeley, Heber, Brawley, Calexico, Holtville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 5,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 40 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 21 km E of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 24 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 31 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 29 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 13 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 32.8242, -115.6087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Riverside County, CA | 107 km (67 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 7km E of Puebla, B.C., MX
- 2.1 9km SE of Puebla, B.C., MX
- 1.6 7km WNW of Westmorland, CA
- 2.8 13km S of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.8 7km NE of Imperial, CA
- 2.0 10km SW of Niland, CA
- 1.9 9km SW of Niland, CA
- 2.1 10km SW of Niland, CA
- 1.6 6km NE of Imperial, CA
- 1.9 23km SSW of Puebla, B.C., MX
- 1.9 8km SW of Holtville, CA
- 1.7 10km SW of Niland, CA
- 1.5 8km ENE of El Centro, CA
- 2.3 9km N of Westmorland, CA
- 2.1 9km N of Westmorland, 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.