Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near El Centro, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 11:23 am PST (19:23 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 54 km (33 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 El Centro
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA, at 3:26 am PST on 23 February 2020 (11:26 UTC), 8.4 km deep.
USGS: 16km NNW of Ocotillo, CA
- When
- 3:26 am PST on 23 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 44 km (28 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 66 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 8 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 2378 days ago
Earthquake alerts for El Centro, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near El Centro, CA. No account or email needed.
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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In El Centro, 44 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 230 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 26 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 23 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 50 km E 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 32.8717, -116.0295. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 95 km (59 mi) | N | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 26km NW of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.5 10km WSW of Salton City, CA
- 1.7 3km SW of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.6 22km NNE of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.6 20km ESE of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.6 11km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.3 5km SW of Salton City, CA
- 1.5 4km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.1 8km W of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.6 13km E of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 3km SSW of Imperial, CA
- 1.5 3km SSW of Imperial, CA
- 1.6 6km SSE of Brawley, CA
- 1.8 11km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.8 5km WSW of Salton City, 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.