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SeismoAtlas

M2.6 earthquake 22 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 22 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States at 03:52 local time (10:52 UTC) on 23 Sept 2026, at a depth of 13 km, according to USGS.

6 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-24 04:47 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
2.6micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
Depth
12.6 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-23 10:52:08 UTC
Local: 23 Sept 2026, 03:52:08 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
33.574° N, 116.770° 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
Valle VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 14,57822 kmINot felt
East HemetCalifornia, United States · pop. 17,41824 kmINot felt
HemetCalifornia, United States · pop. 83,86127 kmINot felt
San JacintoCalifornia, United States · pop. 46,95129 kmINot felt
Palm SpringsCalifornia, United States · pop. 47,37135 kmINot felt
Cathedral CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,82636 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,26172 kmINot felt
IrvineCalifornia, United States · pop. 256,92798 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 Survey2.6 ml12.6 km33.57° N, 116.77° 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 133 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 13 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M2.6 releases about 35× the energy of M1.6, and its waves are about 11× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 133 kg of TNT vs 4 kg of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M1.6. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

75 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.3 2 days ago. 24 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M2.6

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

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
0.040.012
0.430.612
1.951.03
1.96-0.14
3.580.16
4.580.35
5.110.812
8.640.612
8.840.67
9.800.313
10.800.512
14.390.714
16.200.612
17.680.411
18.930.312
19.850.613
23.640.712
25.080.412
29.200.313
37.810.312
42.401.112
43.270.412
50.341.114
51.100.66
51.350.616
52.180.613
55.440.312
56.450.313
58.900.512
60.531.15
66.250.514
68.090.95
68.650.315
68.961.112
70.070.315
70.070.015
70.080.615
70.110.414
70.880.37
71.270.412
71.410.06
71.930.212
74.48-0.06
75.380.914
78.920.210
79.990.46
84.090.612
88.621.614
88.632.314
88.641.213
90.130.412
90.200.512
92.34-0.06
93.180.718
94.310.814
96.830.26
97.580.617
97.890.93
98.350.910
99.760.513
100.401.413
103.851.513
108.340.56
109.010.86
111.841.712
111.890.913
112.541.114
113.550.213
122.170.411
123.561.117
125.861.213
126.370.716
128.010.710
128.020.411
133.290.412
  1. 2.326 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  2. 1.723 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:42
  3. 1.626 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  4. 1.525 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 18:42
  5. 1.424 km E of Temecula, California, United States09-27 15:15
  6. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:30
  7. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 16:43
  8. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 05:15
  9. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 13:12
  10. 1.129 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-25 23:23
  11. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 03:24
  12. 1.120 km ESE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 14:25
  13. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 07:50
  14. 1.030 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-23 12:49
  15. 0.941 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 06:57
  16. 0.928 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 12:45
  17. 0.923 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:45
  18. 0.934 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 13:13
  19. 0.921 km NE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 14:14
  20. 0.820 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 09:10
  21. 0.829 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 23:52
  22. 0.822 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-23 15:58
  23. 0.725 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-24 01:15
  24. 0.713 km ESE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 17:14
  25. 0.718 km ESE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 08:02

Did you feel it?

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

USGS “Did You Feel It?” has 6 reports: add yours at USGS.

Event id ci41337559. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:10 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41337559). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M2.6 earthquake 22 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41337559-m2-6-earthquake-22-km-sse-of-valle-vista-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41337559. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.