Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
52km S of Ocotillo, CA
Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 52km S of Ocotillo, CA, at 1:44 am PDT on 29 September 2020 (08:44 UTC), 14 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 105 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2235 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Campo, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 4.2 on 2018-07-25 — about 7,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 49 km SSE of Rumorosa, Mexico · 27 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.1 30km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX · 47 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 19 km S of Progreso, Mexico · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 44km SSW of Progreso, B.C., MX · 25 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.7 8km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · 49 km N 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 32.2713, -116.0112. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 15km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.8 14km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.1 16km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.1 27km ESE of Campo, CA
- 1.6 21km ESE of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.5 25km ESE of Campo, CA
- 1.9 14km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.6 17km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.6 16km ESE of Ocotillo, CA
- 2.1 5km SW of Ocotillo, CA
- 2.3 18km ESE of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.8 14km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.9 35km NNE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.1 9km SSW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.2 10km SSW of Progreso, B.C., MX
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.