QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near El Centro, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 7:39 am PST (15:39 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA, at 12:10 pm PDT on 15 October 2020 (19:10 UTC), 8.8 km deep.

USGS: 15km N of Ocotillo, CA

12:10 pm PDT, Oct 15, 2020 · · 8.8 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near El Centro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 65 kmSan Diego County 72 kmRiverside County 95 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
12:10 pm PDT on 15 October 2020 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
8.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Imperial County, 65 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore 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 2219 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In El Centro, 44 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 78,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 33 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 25 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 23 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 48 km N of this epicentre
  5. 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 49 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 32.8715, -116.0225. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 65 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 72 km (45 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 95 km (59 mi) N earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 12km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  2. 1.6 10km SSW of Salton City, CA
  3. 2.0 23km NW of Ocotillo, CA
  4. 1.7 16km E of Ocotillo, CA
  5. 1.6 14km W of Imperial, CA
  6. 1.6 15km E of Ocotillo, CA
  7. 2.2 4km S of Heber, CA
  8. 1.8 19km WNW of Ocotillo, CA
  9. 1.5 5km NE of Westmorland, CA
  10. 2.1 5km NE of Westmorland, CA
  11. 1.6 5km NE of Westmorland, CA
  12. 2.3 27km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  13. 3.4 21km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  14. 1.7 26km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  15. 1.7 21km 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.