QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

40km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 40km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX, at 2:25 am PST on 27 January 2020 (10:25 UTC), 10 km deep.

· 10 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N
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
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 124 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2479 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 in our catalogue was M 4.2 on 2018-07-25 — about 5,400 times the energy of this one.

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 32.0057, -116.2260. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 124 km (77 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 141 km (88 mi) NE earthquakes near Imperial County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 44km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  2. 2.0 32km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  3. 1.9 37km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  4. 1.8 33km ENE of Maneadero, B.C., MX
  5. 1.9 35km NNE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  6. 2.1 24km NNE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  7. 2.8 47km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  8. 3.4 55km ESE of Maneadero, B.C., MX
  9. 1.6 25km ESE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
  10. 2.5 34km E of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  11. 2.6 49km E of Maneadero, B.C., MX
  12. 2.2 60km E of Maneadero, B.C., MX
  13. 2.5 72km WSW of Alberto Oviedo Mota, B.C., MX
  14. 1.9 33km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
  15. 1.6 52km S 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.