Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Julian, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Julian in the 24 hours to 12:33 pm PST (20:33 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 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Julian, CA, at 7:25 am PDT on 12 September 2025 (14:25 UTC), 15 km deep.
USGS: 12 km NNE of Julian, CA
69 km (43 mi) NE of San Diego, CA · 50 km (31 mi) E of Escondido, CA
- When
- 7:25 am PDT on 12 September 2025 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Julian, CA · earthquakes near Julian
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 28 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 2 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 426 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Julian, 13 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: Borrego Springs, San Diego Country Estates.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 52 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 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 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 38,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 36 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 41 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 8km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 41 km E 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 33.1775, -116.5373. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 28 km (17 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | E | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| Orange County, CA | 128 km (79 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 14 km N of Warner Springs, CA
- 2.1 24 km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 20 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.9 2 km ENE of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.9 7 km WNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 16 km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 16 km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.0 3 km WNW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.7 15 km ESE of Julian, CA
- 1.6 20 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 1.6 15 km NE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.7 10 km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.2 26 km WNW of Ocotillo, CA
- 2.2 12 km SSE of Anza, CA
- 1.9 20 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, 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.