Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Julian, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Julian in the 24 hours to 6:08 am PST (14:08 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Julian, CA, at 10:30 am PDT on 14 April 2025 (17:30 UTC), 15 km deep. 138 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km SSE of Julian, CA
56 km (35 mi) ENE of San Diego, CA · 42 km (26 mi) ENE of Santee, CA
- When
- 10:30 am PDT on 14 April 2025 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Julian, CA · earthquakes near Julian
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 138 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 18 km W
- 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 574 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Julian, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Julian, 5 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, Descanso, Pine Valley, Ramona, Alpine.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 2025-04-14 — about 150,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 49 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 8km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 50 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · 33 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 44 km NNE 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 33.0315, -116.5885. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 18 km (11 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 95 km (59 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | E | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Orange County, CA | 132 km (82 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.
- 1.7 7 km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 10 km S of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.0 15 km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 4 km NNW of Julian, CA
- 1.6 23 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 3.3 11 km SSW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.4 21 km E of Julian, CA
- 2.1 15 km E of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.8 7 km ESE of Valley Center, CA
- 1.5 11 km NE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.1 6 km WNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 16 km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 12 km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 13 km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.7 8 km N of Julian, 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.