QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

6km ENE of Puebla, B.C., MX

Yes. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 6km ENE of Puebla, B.C., MX, 73 km (45 mi) W of Yuma, AZ, at 1:20 am PST on 4 December 2021 (09:20 UTC), 19 km deep. 28 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

73 km (45 mi) W of Yuma, AZ

· 19 km deep · released about 1,700 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 51 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
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
28 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Imperial County, 51 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Imperial fault, 25 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 1734 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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Calexico 22 km, intensity II · Holtville 27 km, intensity II · El Centro 34 km, intensity II · Imperial 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.8× more

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 in our catalogue was M 4.8 on 2018-11-19 — about 300 times the energy of this one.

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 32.5832, -115.2922. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 51 km (32 mi) N earthquakes near Imperial County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7km S of Brawley, CA
  2. 1.6 7km S of Brawley, CA
  3. 2.6 6km S of Brawley, CA
  4. 2.2 6km S of Brawley, CA
  5. 1.6 6km S of Brawley, CA
  6. 2.0 2km NNW of El Centro, CA
  7. 1.9 7km ESE of Puebla, B.C., MX
  8. 1.8 18km WSW of Delta, B.C., MX
  9. 1.8 7km SW of Holtville, CA
  10. 1.6 8km SSW of Holtville, CA
  11. 1.5 8km NE of Mexicali, B.C., MX
  12. 2.0 7km NW of Delta, B.C., MX
  13. 1.9 7km NW of Delta, B.C., MX
  14. 2.3 16km WNW of Alberto Oviedo Mota, B.C., MX
  15. 1.7 12km S 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.