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M1.5 earthquake 36 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 36 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States at 02:14 local time (09:14 UTC) on 23 Sept 2026, at a depth of 8 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-23 12:53 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
1.5micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
Depth
8.5 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-23 09:14:13 UTC
Local: 23 Sept 2026, 02:14:13 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
33.459° N, 116.617° 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. 40,47636 kmINot felt
Palm DesertCalifornia, United States · pop. 51,86936 kmINot felt
Cathedral CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,82638 kmINot felt
Palm SpringsCalifornia, United States · pop. 47,37142 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,26191 kmINot felt
San DiegoCalifornia, United States · pop. 1,404,45297 kmINot felt
Chula VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 265,757101 kmINot felt
TijuanaBaja California, Mexico · pop. 1,922,523112 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 Survey1.5 ml8.5 km33.46° N, 116.62° 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 3 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 8 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M1.5 releases about 6.2× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 3.4× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 3 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

89 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.6 5 days ago. 21 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M1.5

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

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
1.080.715
1.632.613
1.670.012
2.060.612
3.581.03
3.59-0.14
5.210.16
5.941.513
6.220.35
6.740.812
10.280.612
10.480.67
11.430.313
12.430.512
16.020.714
17.830.612
19.320.411
20.560.312
21.480.613
25.270.712
26.710.412
29.920.96
30.830.313
33.180.79
39.440.312
40.540.811
44.031.112
44.900.412
51.971.114
52.740.66
52.980.616
53.820.613
57.070.312
58.080.313
60.540.512
62.161.15
64.190.411
67.880.514
69.720.95
70.290.315
70.400.612
70.601.112
71.700.315
71.710.015
71.710.615
71.740.414
72.510.37
72.910.412
73.050.06
73.560.212
76.11-0.06
77.010.914
80.550.210
81.630.46
85.720.612
90.251.614
90.261.620
90.262.314
90.271.213
91.760.412
91.840.512
93.98-0.06
94.810.718
95.940.814
98.460.26
99.210.617
99.530.93
99.980.910
101.390.513
102.031.413
105.481.513
109.970.56
110.640.86
113.471.712
113.520.913
114.131.211
114.171.114
115.180.213
117.930.62
122.850.710
123.800.411
125.090.515
125.201.117
127.491.213
127.870.611
127.880.313
129.640.710
129.650.411
134.920.412
  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. 1.530 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-23 15:10
  7. 1.525 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 18:42
  8. 1.424 km E of Temecula, California, United States09-27 15:15
  9. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:30
  10. 1.225 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-28 03:22
  11. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 16:43
  12. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 05:15
  13. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 13:12
  14. 1.129 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 23:23
  15. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 03:24
  16. 1.120 km ESE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 14:25
  17. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 07:50
  18. 1.030 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-23 12:49
  19. 0.941 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 06:57
  20. 0.928 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 12:45
  21. 0.923 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:45
  22. 0.934 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 13:13
  23. 0.925 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-24 15:09
  24. 0.921 km NE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 14:14
  25. 0.820 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 09:10

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

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Event id ci41337511. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:11 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41337511). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.5 earthquake 36 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41337511-m1-5-earthquake-36-km-sw-of-la-quinta-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41337511. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.