Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0ml
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 4.0 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Julian, CA, at 11:23 am PDT on 14 April 2025 (18:23 UTC), 13 km deep. 846 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km SSE of Julian, CA
57 km (35 mi) ENE of San Diego, CA · 42 km (26 mi) ENE of Santee, CA
- When
- 11:23 am PDT on 14 April 2025 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Julian, CA · earthquakes near Julian
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 846 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 17 km W
- 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 239 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 92 km (57 mi) from the epicentre. In Julian, 4 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: Julian 4 km, intensity IV · San Diego Country Estates 18 km, intensity III · Pine Valley 25 km, intensity III · Ramona 26 km, intensity III · Alpine 28 km, intensity III · Borrego Springs 31 km, intensity III · Escondido 47 km, intensity II · Campo 50 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 13,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 13 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 27× 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 2025-04-14 — about 78 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 · 32 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 43 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 33.0405, -116.5922. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 17 km (11 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | E | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Orange County, CA | 131 km (81 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 20 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 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
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.