Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Imperial, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Imperial in the 24 hours to 5:14 am PST (13:14 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) southwest of Imperial, CA, at 11:47 am PDT on 20 September 2019 (18:47 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 2km SW of Imperial, CA
- When
- 11:47 am PDT on 20 September 2019 ()
- Where
- 2 km (2 mi) southwest of Imperial, CA · earthquakes near Imperial
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 32 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Brawley Seismic Zone, 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 2603 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Imperial, CA
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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. In Imperial, 2 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: El Centro, Seeley, Heber, Brawley, Calexico, Holtville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 4.0 on 2016-07-31 — about 4,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 41 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 19 km E of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 25 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 28 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 11 km NE 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 32.8293, -115.5848. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 32 km (20 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Riverside County, CA | 107 km (67 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5km SSE of Brawley, CA
- 2.3 11km SW of Niland, CA
- 1.5 4km WNW of Heber, CA
- 2.1 13km WNW of Calipatria, CA
- 2.3 27km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 2.6 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
- 1.6 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
- 1.8 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
- 1.7 18km ESE of Ocotillo, CA
- 2.9 27km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 1.7 27km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 1.6 26km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 1.8 28km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 1.9 28km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- 1.7 18km N of Ocotillo, 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.