Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Murrieta, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Murrieta in the 24 hours to 4:38 am PST (12:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Murrieta
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north of Murrieta, CA, at 11:26 pm PST on 25 January 2020 (07:26 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 5km N of Murrieta, CA
in Murrieta, CA · 120 km (75 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 11:26 pm PST on 25 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) north of Murrieta, CA · earthquakes near Murrieta
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 53 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 4 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 2481 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Murrieta, 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 Murrieta, 5 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: Wildomar, Sedco Hills, Canyon Lake, Lakeland Village, Lake Elsinore, Temecula.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 4.4 on 2018-08-15 — about 19,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 28 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 20 km WNW 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 33.6027, -117.2122. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 3km NE of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.9 1km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Redlands, CA
- 1.7 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.9 7km NE of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.7 9km SE of Valle Vista, CA
- 1.9 6km NW of Banning, CA
- 1.5 13km WNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 10km NNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 10km NNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 7km S of Redlands, CA
- 1.6 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
- 2.1 13 km WNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 4 km SE of Home Gardens, 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.