QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

13 km N of Tecate, B.C., MX

Yes. A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 13 km N of Tecate, B.C., MX, 47 km (29 mi) ESE of San Diego, CA, at 2:06 pm PDT on 6 April 2026 (21:06 UTC), 24 km deep. 222 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

47 km (29 mi) ESE of San Diego, CA · 31 km (19 mi) ESE of El Cajon, CA

· 24 km deep · released about 860 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 39 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
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
222 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
San Diego County, 39 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 133 days ago

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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Pine Valley 19 km, intensity II · Alpine 19 km, intensity II · Campo 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 860 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 860 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 in our catalogue was M 5.2 on 2025-04-14 — about 2,300 times the energy of this one.

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 32.6852, -116.6585. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 39 km (24 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 131 km (82 mi) NNE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 152 km (94 mi) NW earthquakes near Orange County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.5 4 km N of Julian, CA
  2. 1.2 12 km NNW of Pine Valley, CA
  3. 1.6 22 km ESE of Julian, CA
  4. 1.1 18 km ESE of Julian, CA
  5. 0.6 11 km E of Julian, CA
  6. 1.5 28 km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  7. 0.6 27 km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  8. 1.0 22 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  9. 1.3 2 km NE of Imperial Beach, CA
  10. 1.2 6 km W of Tecate, B.C., MX
  11. 0.8 16 km SE of Julian, CA
  12. 0.7 11 km E of Julian, CA
  13. 1.1 6 km ESE of Chula Vista, CA
  14. 0.5 7 km W of Tecate, B.C., MX
  15. 0.8 10 km NW of Pine Valley, 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.