Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near El Centro, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 5:15 am PST (13:15 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) west of El Centro, CA, at 2:57 pm PST on 6 February 2022 (22:57 UTC), 8.7 km deep.
USGS: 10km NNW of Ocotillo, CA
- When
- 2:57 pm PST on 6 February 2022 ()
- Where
- 44 km (27 mi) west of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 68 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 6 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 1739 days ago
Earthquake alerts for El Centro, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near El Centro, 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 11 km (7 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 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 42,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 29 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 40 km N of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 27 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 37 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 5km N of Westmorland, CA · 47 km NE 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 32.8218, -116.0347. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | N | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 12km SSW of Salton City, CA
- 1.7 10km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.5 5km N of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.8 5km N of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.6 4km N of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.6 21km NW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 2.3 6km ESE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of Imperial, CA
- 1.6 19km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.6 12km SSW of Salton City, CA
- 1.8 4km NW of El Centro, CA
- 2.8 12km SSW of Salton City, CA
- 2.4 13km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.8 4km WNW of Calexico, CA
- 2.5 4km WNW of Calexico, 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.