Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.1mw
Earthquake near Borrego Springs, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Borrego Springs in the 24 hours to 9:26 pm PST (05:26 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 145 km (90 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 Borrego Springs
This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north of Borrego Springs, CA, at 4:12 am PST on 31 December 2022 (12:12 UTC), 3.9 km deep. 1,858 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16 km N of Borrego Springs, CA
95 km (59 mi) NE of San Diego, CA · 38 km (24 mi) S of Palm Desert, CA
- When
- 4:12 am PST on 31 December 2022 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) north of Borrego Springs, CA · earthquakes near Borrego Springs
- Magnitude
- M 4.1 (mw)
- Depth
- 3.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1,858 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 52 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 1028 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Borrego Springs, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Borrego Springs, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 107 km (66 mi) from the epicentre. In Borrego Springs, 16 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Borrego Springs 16 km, intensity IV · La Quinta 31 km, intensity III · Anza 31 km, intensity III · Mecca 35 km, intensity III · Palm Desert 36 km, intensity III · Coachella 37 km, intensity III · Indio 39 km, intensity III · Julian 40 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 24 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 6,900× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.1 about 24 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 51× 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 38 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 36 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 31 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 13 km E of this epicentre
- 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 35 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 8km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 35 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 33.3975, -116.3933. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Imperial County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.5 14km E of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.5 14km E of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.0 7km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.8 11km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.2 6km N of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.6 4km ENE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 19km E of Julian, CA
- 1.5 2km NW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.6 10km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.2 10km NNW of Anza, CA
- 1.7 11km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.7 10km ESE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 10km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, 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.