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M1.2 earthquake 38 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States

A magnitude 1.2 earthquake struck 38 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States at 21:38 local time (04:38 UTC) on 22 Sept 2026, at a depth of 8 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-23 13:07 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
1.2micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
Depth
8.4 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-23 04:38:59 UTC
Local: 22 Sept 2026, 21:38:59 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
33.428° N, 116.612° 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. 40,47638 kmINot felt
Palm DesertCalifornia, United States · pop. 51,86939 kmINot felt
Cathedral CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,82641 kmINot felt
Palm SpringsCalifornia, United States · pop. 47,37145 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,26193 kmINot felt
San DiegoCalifornia, United States · pop. 1,404,45294 kmINot felt
Chula VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 265,75798 kmINot felt
TijuanaBaja California, Mexico · pop. 1,922,523109 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 Survey1.2 ml8.4 km33.43° N, 116.61° 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 858 g 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 8 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M1.2 releases about 1.8× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 1.5× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 858 g 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

93 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.6 5 days ago. 16 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M1.2

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

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
0.710.86
1.560.86
2.010.17
3.411.513
4.591.58
5.670.715
6.222.613
6.260.012
6.650.612
8.171.03
8.18-0.14
9.800.16
10.531.513
10.800.35
11.330.812
14.860.612
15.060.67
16.020.313
17.020.512
20.610.714
22.420.612
23.900.411
25.150.312
26.060.613
29.860.712
31.300.412
34.510.96
35.420.313
37.760.79
44.030.312
45.130.811
48.621.112
49.490.412
56.561.114
57.320.66
57.570.616
58.400.613
61.660.312
62.670.313
65.120.512
66.751.15
68.770.411
72.470.514
74.310.95
74.870.315
74.980.612
75.181.112
76.290.315
76.290.015
76.300.615
76.330.414
77.100.37
77.490.412
77.630.06
78.150.212
80.70-0.06
81.600.914
85.140.210
86.210.46
90.310.612
94.841.614
94.841.620
94.852.314
94.861.213
96.350.412
96.420.512
98.56-0.06
100.530.814
103.050.26
103.800.617
104.110.93
104.570.910
105.980.513
106.611.413
110.071.513
114.560.56
115.230.86
118.061.712
118.110.913
118.721.211
118.761.114
119.760.213
122.520.62
127.430.710
128.390.411
129.680.515
129.781.117
132.081.213
132.460.611
132.460.313
134.230.710
134.230.411
139.510.412
  1. 2.622 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-23 10:52
  2. 2.326 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  3. 1.723 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:42
  4. 1.626 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  5. 1.623 km SSW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  6. 1.536 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-23 09:14
  7. 1.530 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-23 15:10
  8. 1.525 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 18:42
  9. 1.526 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-23 08:03
  10. 1.424 km E of Temecula, California, United States09-27 15:15
  11. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:30
  12. 1.225 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-28 03:22
  13. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 16:43
  14. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 05:15
  15. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 13:12
  16. 1.129 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 23:23
  17. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 03:24
  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. 1.030 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-23 12:49
  21. 0.941 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 06:57
  22. 0.928 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 12:45
  23. 0.923 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:45
  24. 0.934 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 13:13
  25. 0.925 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-24 15:09

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Event id ci41337431. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:11 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41337431). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.2 earthquake 38 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41337431-m1-2-earthquake-38-km-sw-of-la-quinta-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41337431. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.