Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Indio, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Indio in the 24 hours to 3:17 pm PST (23:17 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 173 km (107 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 Indio
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) east of Indio, CA, at 1:14 pm PST on 5 December 2021 (21:14 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 27km NNE of North Shore, CA
39 km (24 mi) E of Indio, CA · 148 km (92 mi) E of Riverside, CA
- When
- 1:14 pm PST on 5 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 38 km (23 mi) east of Indio, CA · earthquakes near Indio
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 18 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hidden Spring fault, 18 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 1802 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Indio, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Indio, CA. No account or email needed.
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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Indio, 38 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 9.3 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 4.2 on 2019-07-22 — about 6,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 33 km NNW 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 33.7437, -115.8100. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 18 km (11 mi) | W | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 16km NE of Coachella, CA
- 2.1 6km ENE of North Shore, CA
- 1.5 3km N of Bombay Beach, CA
- 2.2 1km SSE of Bombay Beach, CA
- 2.4 1km S of Bombay Beach, CA
- 1.7 5km WSW of Bombay Beach, CA
- 2.0 16km N of Indio, CA
- 1.6 16km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.7 17km NE of Coachella, CA
- 2.0 16km NE of Coachella, CA
- 2.4 16km ENE of Coachella, CA
- 1.6 14km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.5 20km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 1.8 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of Indio, 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.