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M0.9 earthquake 41 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States

A magnitude 0.9 earthquake struck 41 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States at 23:57 local time (06:57 UTC) on 25 Sept 2026, at a depth of 5 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-28 13:56 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
0.9micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
Depth
5.3 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-26 06:57:32 UTC
Local: 25 Sept 2026, 23:57:32 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
33.410° N, 116.650° 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
Valley CenterCalifornia, United States · pop. 9,27741 kmINot felt
La QuintaCalifornia, United States · pop. 40,47642 kmINot felt
Palm DesertCalifornia, United States · pop. 51,86943 kmINot felt
Cathedral CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,82644 kmINot felt
RamonaCalifornia, United States · pop. 20,29246 kmINot felt
San DiegoCalifornia, United States · pop. 1,404,45290 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,26192 kmINot felt
Chula VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 265,75795 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 Survey0.9 ml5.3 km33.41° N, 116.65° 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 401 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 5 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M1.0 releases about 1.2× the energy of M0.9, and its waves are about 1.1× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 477 g of TNT vs 401 g of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M0.9. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

47 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.3 1 day ago. 60 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M0.9

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

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
0.560.315
0.670.612
0.871.112
1.980.315
1.980.015
1.990.615
2.020.414
2.790.37
3.180.412
3.320.06
3.840.212
6.39-0.06
7.290.914
10.830.210
11.900.46
16.000.612
20.531.614
20.531.620
20.542.314
20.551.213
22.040.412
22.110.512
24.25-0.06
26.220.814
28.740.26
29.490.617
29.800.93
30.260.910
31.670.513
32.311.413
35.761.513
40.250.56
40.920.86
43.751.712
43.800.913
44.411.211
44.451.114
45.460.213
48.210.62
53.120.710
55.370.515
55.471.117
57.771.213
58.150.611
58.150.313
59.920.710
59.930.411
  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. 1.623 km SSW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:29
  5. 1.525 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 18:42
  6. 1.424 km E of Temecula, California, United States09-27 15:15
  7. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-27 03:30
  8. 1.225 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-28 03:22
  9. 1.225 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 16:43
  10. 1.116 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 03:24
  11. 1.120 km ESE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 14:25
  12. 1.122 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 07:50
  13. 0.928 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 12:45
  14. 0.923 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:45
  15. 0.934 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 13:13
  16. 0.921 km NE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 14:14
  17. 0.820 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 09:10
  18. 0.829 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 23:52
  19. 0.730 km WSW of Oasis, California, United States09-28 12:04
  20. 0.730 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 18:52
  21. 0.617 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 07:10
  22. 0.622 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 22:57
  23. 0.625 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 12:26
  24. 0.618 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-28 17:06
  25. 0.618 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 07:37

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

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Event id ci41339335. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:09 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41339335). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M0.9 earthquake 41 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41339335-m0-9-earthquake-41-km-ene-of-valley-center-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41339335. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.