QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Indio, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Indio in the 24 hours to 6:00 am PST (14:00 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) east-southeast of Indio, CA, at 12:36 pm PDT on 22 September 2020 (19:36 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 18km ENE of North Shore, CA

45 km (28 mi) ESE of Indio, CA · 137 km (85 mi) ESE of Moreno Valley, CA

12:36 pm PDT, Sep 22, 2020 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 110 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 25 kmImperial County 74 kmSan Diego County 114 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
12:36 pm PDT on 22 September 2020 ()
Where
43 km (27 mi) east-southeast of Indio, CA · earthquakes near Indio
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 25 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Hidden Spring fault, 12 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 2240 days ago

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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Indio, 43 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: Mecca.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 110 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 95,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 4.6 on 2020-08-10 — about 2,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 45 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 44 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 6km WNW of Niland, CA · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 48 km NNW 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 33.6107, -115.7700. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 25 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Riverside County
Imperial County, CA 74 km (46 mi) SSE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 114 km (71 mi) SW earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 17km SSW of Oasis, CA
  2. 1.7 13km NE of Indio, CA
  3. 1.6 13km NE of Indio, CA
  4. 1.5 13km NE of Indio, CA
  5. 1.7 16km S of Bombay Beach, CA
  6. 1.6 13km NE of Indio, CA
  7. 2.1 11km SW of Niland, CA
  8. 1.6 11km SW of Niland, CA
  9. 1.6 12km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
  10. 2.1 11km SW of Niland, CA
  11. 1.7 11km WSW of Niland, CA
  12. 1.9 9km WSW of Niland, CA
  13. 1.7 11km SW of Niland, CA
  14. 1.9 13km W of Niland, CA
  15. 2.0 12km SW of Niland, 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.