QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Salton City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Salton City in the 24 hours to 10:48 am PST (18:48 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 121 km (75 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salton City

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 quarry blast was recorded 34 km (21 mi) south-southwest of Salton City, CA, at 11:38 am PST on 16 February 2021 (19:38 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 15km SSE of Ocotillo Wells, CA

11:38 am PST, Feb 16, 2021 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salton City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 65 kmImperial County 67 kmRiverside County 80 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
11:38 am PST on 16 February 2021 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) south-southwest of Salton City, CA · earthquakes near Salton City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 65 km W
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 9 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 2095 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Salton City, 34 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 4.9 on 2020-10-01 — about 110,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 28 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 19 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 21 km E of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 32 km N of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 28 km ENE 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 33.0138, -116.0768. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 65 km (41 mi) W earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 67 km (42 mi) E earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA 80 km (50 mi) N earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  2. 1.6 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  3. 1.8 16km S of Bombay Beach, CA
  4. 1.9 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  5. 2.0 10km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  6. 2.0 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  7. 2.7 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  8. 2.5 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  9. 1.9 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  10. 1.9 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  11. 2.0 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  12. 2.0 19km ESE of Julian, CA
  13. 1.7 21km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  14. 2.2 26km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  15. 2.5 27km ENE of Pine Valley, 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.