Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Westmorland, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Westmorland in the 24 hours to 2:22 pm PST (22:22 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 79 km (49 mi) SSE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Westmorland
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Westmorland, CA, at 11:05 am PDT on 29 October 2019 (18:05 UTC), 12 km deep. 20 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 27km WSW of Westmorland, CA
- When
- 11:05 am PDT on 29 October 2019 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Westmorland, CA · earthquakes near Westmorland
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 20 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 52 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, under 1 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 2570 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Westmorland, 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 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Westmorland, 27 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: Seeley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 570 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 27,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 4.3 on 2016-09-27 — about 170 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 39 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 11 km E of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 29 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 6 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 39 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 39 km ESE 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 32.9780, -115.9027. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | E | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | N | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 2km E of El Centro, CA
- 1.6 3km ESE of El Centro, CA
- 1.7 3km ESE of El Centro, CA
- 2.1 1km E of El Centro, CA
- 2.3 1km ENE of El Centro, CA
- 2.7 1km E of El Centro, CA
- 2.1 1km ENE of El Centro, CA
- 1.6 2km NE of El Centro, CA
- 2.6 3km N of Heber, CA
- 2.6 2km ESE of El Centro, CA
- 3.2 1km ESE of El Centro, CA
- 2.7 1km ESE of El Centro, CA
- 1.6 2km SE of El Centro, CA
- 1.9 1km ENE of El Centro, CA
- 1.8 1km E of El Centro, 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.