Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Indio, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Indio in the 24 hours to 12:12 am PST (08:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 173 km (107 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Indio
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) northeast of Indio, CA, at 9:16 am PST on 8 November 2018 (17:16 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 36 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km NE of Indio, CA
11 km (7 mi) ENE of Indio, CA · 142 km (88 mi) NE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 9:16 am PST on 8 November 2018 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) northeast of Indio, CA · earthquakes near Indio
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 36 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 13 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Coachella Fan Fault Zone, 2 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 2852 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Indio, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Indio, 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Indio, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Indio 10 km, intensity III · Coachella 12 km, intensity III · La Quinta 21 km, intensity II · Palm Desert 23 km, intensity II · Mecca 24 km, intensity II · Thousand Palms 24 km, intensity II · Cathedral City 31 km, intensity II · Palm Springs 38 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 970 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 26 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 29 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 3km NE of Yucca Valley, California · 47 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 47 km ENE 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 33.7793, -116.1338. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 13 km (8 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Imperial County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 120 km (74 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 17km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.1 20km ENE of Coachella, CA
- 1.7 15km ENE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 2.6 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 15km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 18km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 2.4 17km SW of La Quinta, CA
- 2.3 19km ESE of Anza, CA
- 3.1 10km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 13km ENE of Coachella, CA
- 2.3 15km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 30km WNW of Desert Center, CA
- 1.7 22km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.9 13km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 13km N of Indio, 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.