QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Brawley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Brawley in the 24 hours to 9:33 am PST (17:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 69 km (43 mi) SSE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Brawley

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north-northwest of Brawley, CA, at 2:02 am PDT on 20 June 2020 (09:02 UTC), 4.8 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km W of Bombay Beach, CA

2:02 am PDT, Jun 20, 2020 · · 4.8 km deep · released about 750 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Brawley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 47 kmImperial County 52 kmSan Diego County 101 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
2:02 am PDT on 20 June 2020 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) north-northwest of Brawley, CA · earthquakes near Brawley
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
4.8 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 47 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Extra 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 2266 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 33 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Brawley, 47 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: Salton City 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 750 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 20,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 750 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 260 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 25 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 42 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 37 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 29 km S 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 33.3533, -115.7690. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 47 km (29 mi) NNW earthquakes near Riverside County
Imperial County, CA 52 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 101 km (63 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 6km SW of Niland, CA
  2. 1.8 4km WSW of Brawley, CA
  3. 1.9 4km WSW of Brawley, CA
  4. 2.0 10km NE of Borrego Springs, CA
  5. 1.6 13km NNW of Westmorland, CA
  6. 1.9 4km WSW of Brawley, CA
  7. 2.3 5km ENE of North Shore, CA
  8. 2.4 4km WSW of Brawley, CA
  9. 1.9 5km WSW of Brawley, CA
  10. 2.0 4km WSW of Brawley, CA
  11. 1.7 17km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  12. 1.5 14km SW of Westmorland, CA
  13. 1.6 12km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
  14. 1.5 3km ENE of Westmorland, CA
  15. 1.5 4km ENE of Westmorland, 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.