Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Morongo Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Morongo Valley in the 24 hours to 12:56 pm PST (20:56 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 72 km (44 mi) S, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Morongo Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Morongo Valley, CA, at 9:03 pm PDT on 28 August 2023 (04:03 UTC), 8.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SSE of Morongo Valley, CA
20 km (12 mi) NNW of Cathedral City, CA · 141 km (88 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 9:03 pm PDT on 28 August 2023 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Morongo Valley, CA · earthquakes near Morongo Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 60 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 1 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 1171 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Morongo Valley, 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Morongo Valley, 6 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Desert Hot Springs, Garnet, Desert Edge, Yucca Valley, Palm Springs, Cabazon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 2018-05-08 — about 27,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 34 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 26 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 45 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 23 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 22 km E 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 33.9937, -116.5670. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 102 km (64 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| San Diego County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Imperial County, CA | 154 km (96 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 11 km N of Banning, CA
- 2.0 6 km SSE of Banning, CA
- 1.6 9 km NE of Cabazon, CA
- 2.2 4 km S of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 22 km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.6 11 km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.7 12 km S of Joshua Tree, CA
- 1.5 4 km ENE of Calimesa, CA
- 1.8 5 km NE of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 2.3 10 km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.2 5 km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.3 9 km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 17 km ENE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 2.1 8 km NE of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.7 33 km ENE of Big Bear City, 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
- 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.