QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Imperial, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Imperial in the 24 hours to 3:52 am PST (11:52 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 17 km (10 mi) west of Imperial, CA, at 9:50 pm PDT on 10 October 2018 (04:50 UTC), 11 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17km W of Imperial, CA

9:50 pm PDT, Oct 10, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 530 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Imperial Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 42 kmSan Diego County 98 kmRiverside County 100 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
9:50 pm PDT on 10 October 2018 ()
Where
17 km (10 mi) west of Imperial, CA · earthquakes near Imperial
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Imperial County, 42 km ENE
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 2942 days ago

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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Imperial, 17 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: Imperial 17 km, intensity II · El Centro 19 km, intensity II · Brawley 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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 4.3 on 2016-09-27 — about 180 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 42 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 34 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 13 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 20 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 42 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 32.8598, -115.7472. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 42 km (26 mi) ENE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 98 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 100 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 26km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  2. 1.7 11km SW of Salton City, CA
  3. 1.7 10km S of Progreso, B.C., MX
  4. 1.6 11km S of Progreso, B.C., MX
  5. 2.6 10km S of Progreso, B.C., MX
  6. 2.3 6km NNE of Progreso, B.C., MX
  7. 2.9 6km NNE of Progreso, B.C., MX
  8. 1.6 6km NE of Progreso, B.C., MX
  9. 2.0 6km NNE of Progreso, B.C., MX
  10. 1.6 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  11. 1.6 13km NNW of Westmorland, CA
  12. 2.1 6km NNE of Progreso, B.C., MX
  13. 2.9 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  14. 3.5 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  15. 2.1 5km SSW of Brawley, 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.