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M1.4 earthquake 22 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States

A magnitude 1.4 earthquake struck 22 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States at 18:32 local time (01:32 UTC) on 21 Sept 2026, at a depth of 4 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-22 13:58 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
1.4micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
Depth
3.6 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-22 01:32:15 UTC
Local: 21 Sept 2026, 18:32:15 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
33.505° N, 116.458° W

Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. shaking
La QuintaCalifornia, United States · pop. 40,47622 kmINot felt
Palm DesertCalifornia, United States · pop. 51,86925 kmINot felt
Cathedral CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,82631 kmINot felt
IndioCalifornia, United States · pop. 87,53333 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,261100 kmINot felt
San DiegoCalifornia, United States · pop. 1,404,452109 kmINot felt
Chula VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 265,757112 kmINot felt
TijuanaBaja California, Mexico · pop. 1,922,523123 kmINot felt

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · CI, which has been reviewed by an analyst.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
USGS · CIheadlineSouthern California Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey1.4 ml3.6 km33.50° N, 116.46° W–Reviewed

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How big was it?

Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.

It released roughly the energy of 2 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 4 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M1.4 releases about 4.3× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 2.6× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 2 kg of TNT vs 477 g of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M1.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

98 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.3 1 day ago. 1 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M1.4

98 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
0.490.16
2.161.14
2.170.45
2.171.14
2.181.34
2.29-0.14
5.420.26
5.43-0.17
6.940.59
8.631.09
17.390.45
25.920.214
27.111.28
27.830.86
28.670.86
29.130.17
30.521.513
31.701.58
32.780.715
33.370.012
33.760.612
35.281.03
35.29-0.14
36.910.16
37.641.513
38.440.812
41.970.612
43.130.313
43.980.79
44.130.512
47.720.714
49.530.612
51.010.411
52.120.79
52.260.312
52.600.810
53.180.613
54.171.611
54.210.79
54.250.69
54.322.010
56.970.712
58.410.412
61.620.96
62.530.313
64.880.79
71.140.312
72.240.811
75.731.112
76.600.412
84.430.66
84.680.616
85.520.613
92.240.512
93.861.15
95.890.411
99.580.514
101.420.95
101.990.315
102.301.112
103.400.315
103.410.015
103.410.615
103.440.414
104.210.37
104.610.412
105.260.212
107.81-0.06
112.250.210
113.330.46
117.420.612
121.951.614
121.961.620
121.962.314
121.971.213
123.460.412
123.540.512
127.640.814
130.160.26
131.230.93
131.680.910
133.090.513
137.181.513
141.670.56
142.340.86
145.171.712
145.220.913
145.831.211
146.880.213
149.630.62
154.540.710
156.901.117
159.191.213
159.570.611
159.570.313
160.370.811
161.340.710
161.350.411
  1. 2.326 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  2. 2.026 km SW of Oasis, California, United States09-24 07:51
  3. 1.723 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:42
  4. 1.626 km SW of Oasis, California, United States09-24 07:42
  5. 1.626 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  6. 1.623 km SSW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  7. 1.536 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-23 09:14
  8. 1.530 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-23 15:10
  9. 1.525 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 18:42
  10. 1.526 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-23 08:03
  11. 1.329 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-22 03:42
  12. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:30
  13. 1.225 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-28 03:22
  14. 1.238 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-23 04:38
  15. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 16:43
  16. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 05:15
  17. 1.129 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 23:23
  18. 1.120 km ESE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 14:25
  19. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 07:50
  20. 1.130 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-22 03:42
  21. 1.130 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-22 03:41
  22. 1.030 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-23 12:49
  23. 1.031 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-22 10:10
  24. 0.941 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 06:57
  25. 0.928 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 12:45

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

Event id ci41336503. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:12 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41336503). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.4 earthquake 22 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41336503-m1-4-earthquake-22-km-sw-of-la-quinta-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41336503. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.