QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near El Centro, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 7:02 am PST (15:02 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 54 km (33 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near El Centro

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) west-southwest of El Centro, CA, at 6:57 pm PST on 16 February 2021 (02:57 UTC), 8.4 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 16km ESE of Ocotillo, CA

6:57 pm PST, Feb 16, 2021 · · 8.4 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near El Centro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 60 kmSan Diego County 96 kmRiverside County 117 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
6:57 pm PST on 16 February 2021 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) west-southwest of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.4 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports
Nearest
Imperial County, 60 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Yuha Basin faults, 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 2094 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. In El Centro, 28 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Seeley, Heber.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 100,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 35 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 32 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 36 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 45 km E of this epicentre
  5. 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 39 km NE 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 32.6872, -115.8345. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 60 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 96 km (59 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 117 km (73 mi) N earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 16km E of Ocotillo, CA
  2. 1.5 17km SW of Ocotillo, CA
  3. 1.6 16km E of Ocotillo, CA
  4. 2.9 13km NW of Ocotillo, CA
  5. 1.6 17km E of Ocotillo, CA
  6. 1.9 15km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  7. 1.5 15km E of Ocotillo, CA
  8. 1.8 16km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  9. 1.7 16km E of Ocotillo, CA
  10. 1.6 14km E of Campo, CA
  11. 1.6 13km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  12. 1.7 24km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  13. 2.6 15km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  14. 1.9 22km E of Pine Valley, CA
  15. 1.8 14km WNW of Progreso, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.