QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near La Quinta, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in La Quinta in the 24 hours to 3:31 am PST (11:31 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 La Quinta

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) southwest of La Quinta, CA, at 10:40 pm PDT on 7 October 2019 (05:40 UTC), 9.2 km deep. 15 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 16km SW of La Quinta, CA

21 km (13 mi) S of Palm Desert, CA · 106 km (66 mi) NE of San Diego, CA

10:40 pm PDT, Oct 7, 2019 · · 9.2 km deep · released about 88 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Quinta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 43 kmSan Diego County 68 kmImperial County 113 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
10:40 pm PDT on 7 October 2019 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) southwest of La Quinta, CA · earthquakes near La Quinta
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
9.2 km below the surface
Felt
15 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 43 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 7 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 2591 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In La Quinta, 16 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.

Likely felt in: La Quinta 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 21,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 50 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 47 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 22 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 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 33.5480, -116.4073. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 43 km (26 mi) ENE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 68 km (42 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 113 km (70 mi) ESE earthquakes near Imperial County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 13km WNW of Anza, CA
  2. 1.6 13km WNW of Anza, CA
  3. 1.5 10km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  4. 1.6 12 km W of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  5. 1.9 8km N of Anza, CA
  6. 2.1 2 km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
  7. 1.6 8km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  8. 1.7 10km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  9. 2.9 21km ESE of Anza, CA
  10. 1.7 3km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
  11. 2.3 2km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
  12. 1.7 3km ESE of Lake Henshaw, CA
  13. 3.6 2km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
  14. 1.7 13km SE of Anza, CA
  15. 1.8 12km SSW of Borrego Springs, 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.