M0.9 earthquake 21 km NE of Valley Center, California, United States
A magnitude 0.9 earthquake struck 21 km NE of Valley Center, California, United States at 07:14 local time (14:14 UTC) on 26 Sept 2026, at a depth of 14 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-28 13:53 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 0.9micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 14.2 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-26 14:14:42 UTC
- Local: 26 Sept 2026, 07:14:42 (America/Los Angeles)
- Epicentre
- 33.338° N, 116.860° 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
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| Valley CenterCalifornia, United States · pop. 9,277 | 21 km | INot felt |
| TemeculaCalifornia, United States · pop. 110,003 | 32 km | INot felt |
| EscondidoCalifornia, United States · pop. 151,038 | 32 km | INot felt |
| RamonaCalifornia, United States · pop. 20,292 | 33 km | INot felt |
| San MarcosCalifornia, United States · pop. 92,931 | 36 km | INot felt |
| San DiegoCalifornia, United States · pop. 1,404,452 | 74 km | INot felt |
| Chula VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 265,757 | 80 km | INot felt |
| RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,261 | 84 km | INot 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.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · CIheadlineSouthern California Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey | 0.9 ml | 14.2 km | 33.34° N, 116.86° 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 294 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 14 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 1.6× the energy of M0.9, and its waves are about 1.4× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 477 g of TNT vs 294 g of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M0.9. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
18 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M1.7 21 h ago. 44 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M0.9
18 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 3.55 | 0.2 | 10 |
| 4.62 | 0.4 | 6 |
| 8.71 | 0.6 | 12 |
| 14.76 | 0.4 | 12 |
| 14.83 | 0.5 | 12 |
| 16.97 | -0.0 | 6 |
| 21.45 | 0.2 | 6 |
| 22.20 | 0.6 | 17 |
| 22.52 | 0.9 | 3 |
| 22.98 | 0.9 | 10 |
| 25.02 | 1.4 | 13 |
| 32.96 | 0.5 | 6 |
| 33.63 | 0.8 | 6 |
| 36.47 | 1.7 | 12 |
| 36.51 | 0.9 | 13 |
| 38.17 | 0.2 | 13 |
| 48.08 | 0.5 | 15 |
| 57.91 | 0.4 | 12 |
- 1.723 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:42
- 1.424 km E of Temecula, California, United States09-27 15:15
- 0.928 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 12:45
- 0.923 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 02:45
- 0.934 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 13:13
- 0.829 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 23:52
- 0.622 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 22:57
- 0.625 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-27 12:26
- 0.525 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 05:04
- 0.529 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 23:12
- 0.521 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-28 14:19
- 0.433 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States09-29 00:09
- 0.429 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-26 18:51
- 0.422 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 05:00
- 0.229 km SE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 11:41
- 0.222 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-28 04:24
- 0.235 km ENE of Valley Center, California, United States09-26 17:47
- -0.021 km SSE of Valle Vista, California, United States09-27 07:12
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id ci41339527. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:09 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41339527). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M0.9 earthquake 21 km NE of Valley Center, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41339527-m0-9-earthquake-21-km-ne-of-valley-center-california-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41339527. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.