Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9mw
Earthquake near Anza, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Anza in the 24 hours to 3:23 pm PST (23:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 17 km (10 mi) S, at 10:44 pm PST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anza
This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 23 km (15 mi) east-southeast of Anza, CA, at 7:19 pm PST on 12 January 2022 (03:19 UTC), 14 km deep. 2,570 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 23km ESE of Anza, CA
97 km (60 mi) NE of San Diego, CA · 31 km (19 mi) SSW of Palm Desert, CA
- When
- 7:19 pm PST on 12 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 23 km (15 mi) east-southeast of Anza, CA · earthquakes near Anza
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (mw)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2,570 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 50 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, 2 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 1677 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Anza, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Anza, 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 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 85 km (53 mi) from the epicentre. In Anza, 23 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Anza 23 km, intensity III · Borrego Springs 25 km, intensity III · La Quinta 25 km, intensity III · Palm Desert 29 km, intensity III · Coachella 34 km, intensity III · Cathedral City 35 km, intensity III · Indio 35 km, intensity III · Mecca 36 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 18,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 9.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 19× 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 since 2016 was M 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 99 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 45 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 8km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 43 km SE 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 33.4688, -116.4430. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Imperial County, CA | 112 km (69 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 13km WNW of Anza, CA
- 2.0 10km NNW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.9 23km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 2.0 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 23km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 1.5 24km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 9km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.3 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 23km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 2.2 6km SSW of Warner Springs, CA
- 2.0 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 24km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 19km SE of Anza, CA
- 4.0 5km WSW of Palomar Observatory, 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.