QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Campo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Campo in the 24 hours to 5:33 am PST (13:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 122 km (76 mi) E, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Campo

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 36 km (23 mi) northeast of Campo, CA, at 2:56 am PDT on 4 July 2020 (09:56 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 26km WNW of Ocotillo, CA

85 km (53 mi) E of San Diego, CA

2:56 am PDT, Jul 4, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 54 kmImperial County 84 kmRiverside County 99 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
2:56 am PDT on 4 July 2020 ()
Where
36 km (23 mi) northeast of Campo, CA · earthquakes near Campo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 54 km WNW
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 2319 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Campo, 36 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: Pine Valley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 4.5 on 2020-05-10 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 43 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 39 km NNE 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 32.8633, -116.2265. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 54 km (34 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 84 km (52 mi) ENE earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA 99 km (61 mi) NNE earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 22km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  2. 2.2 23km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  3. 1.5 24km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  4. 2.0 23km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  5. 1.7 23km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  6. 1.8 27km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
  7. 1.6 10km NW of Ocotillo, CA
  8. 1.5 28km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
  9. 1.7 17km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  10. 1.6 15km SE of Ocotillo, CA
  11. 1.5 14km SW of Westmorland, CA
  12. 1.6 6km NW of Julian, CA
  13. 2.2 13km S of Borrego Springs, CA
  14. 2.0 12km ESE of Borrego Springs, CA
  15. 2.5 15km NNW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.