Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Julian, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Julian in the 24 hours to 3:30 pm PST (23:30 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 151 km (94 mi) ESE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Julian
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Julian, CA, at 1:29 pm PST on 17 January 2023 (21:29 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 11km WNW of Julian, CA
54 km (33 mi) NE of San Diego, CA · 35 km (22 mi) E of Escondido, CA
- When
- 1:29 pm PST on 17 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Julian, CA · earthquakes near Julian
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 14 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 5 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 1395 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Julian, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Julian, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Julian, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: San Diego Country Estates, Ramona.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 56 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 270,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 190,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 17× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 56 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 33,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.5 1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.2 10km ESE of Anza, CA · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 16 km NW of Julian, California · 7 km N 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 33.1342, -116.7013. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 14 km (9 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 117 km (72 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 9km SSW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 13km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 10km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.9 6km WNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 28km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.6 14km SE of Anza, CA
- 2.3 6km WSW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 6km WSW of Anza, CA
- 2.1 6km WSW of Anza, CA
- 1.7 21km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 21km E of Julian, CA
- 1.6 28km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.9 5km SW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 2.6 24km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.4 16km N of Borrego Springs, 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.