Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.5mw
17km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- When
- Magnitude
- M 4.5 (mw)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4468 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity VII (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 62 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 531 days ago
This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon. 4468 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 97 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,700× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.5 about 97 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 200× 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.
Where
Epicentre 33.0183, -116.0202. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | W of here | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | E of here | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | S of here | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 10km SW of Niland, CA
- 1.6 10km SW of Niland, CA
- 1.6 16km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.9 21km E of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.6 13km WSW of Niland, CA
- 1.8 12km WSW of El Centro, CA
- 1.9 17km SSE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.9 9km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 13km WNW of Calipatria, CA
- 2.4 26km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
- 1.7 18km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.2 15km N of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.9 7km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 18km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.0 18km SE of Ocotillo Wells, 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.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.3 on 2016-09-27.
From the QuakeIndex catalogue, built from the USGS FDSN event service.
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.