QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Indio, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Indio in the 24 hours to 2:04 pm PST (22:04 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Indio, CA, at 7:44 pm PST on 12 February 2024 (03:44 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 37 km NNE of North Shore, CA

42 km (26 mi) ENE of Indio, CA · 148 km (92 mi) E of Riverside, CA

7:44 pm PST, Feb 12, 2024 · · 0.9 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 22 kmImperial County 97 kmSan Bernardino County 119 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
7:44 pm PST on 12 February 2024 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Indio, CA · earthquakes near Indio
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 22 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 986 days ago

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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Indio, 41 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 2,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 26 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 26 km NW 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 33.8335, -115.7955. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 22 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Riverside County
Imperial County, CA 97 km (60 mi) SSE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Bernardino County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Bernardino County
San Diego County, CA 128 km (80 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

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.9 26 km NE of Thermal, CA
  2. 2.7 12 km ESE of North Shore, CA
  3. 1.8 22 km NE of Thermal, CA
  4. 1.6 21 km NW of Desert Center, CA
  5. 1.6 20 km NW of Desert Center, CA
  6. 2.5 20 km NW of Desert Center, CA
  7. 1.7 20 km NW of Desert Center, CA
  8. 1.8 22 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, CA
  9. 1.7 22 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, CA
  10. 1.9 11 km ENE of Indio, CA
  11. 2.4 21 km NW of Desert Center, CA
  12. 2.3 20 km NW of Desert Center, CA
  13. 2.1 11 km ESE of North Shore, CA
  14. 1.6 11 km ESE of North Shore, CA
  15. 1.6 11 km ESE of North Shore, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.