Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
14km ESE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 14km ESE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX, 79 km (49 mi) SSE of San Diego, CA, at 2:36 pm PDT on 17 August 2020 (21:36 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
79 km (49 mi) SSE of San Diego, CA · 55 km (34 mi) SSE of Chula Vista, CA
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 94 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2277 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Imperial Beach, CA
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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 8 km (5 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 17 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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.
Where
Epicentre 32.1783, -116.7733. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
30 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 19km SW of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 1.5 32km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.5 5km WSW of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 1.8 32km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.3 34km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 1.7 34km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 1.6 22km ESE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 2.0 26km E of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.2 25km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.5 25km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 1.9 24km ESE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 1.8 28km ENE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.0 32km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 1.9 37km NE of Ensenada, B.C., MX
- 2.1 30km W of El Sauzal, B.C., MX
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.