M1.2 earthquake 25 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States
A magnitude 1.2 earthquake struck 25 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States at 09:43 local time (16:43 UTC) on 28 Sept 2026, at a depth of 13 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-28 18:56 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 1.2micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 12.9 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-28 16:43:39 UTC
- Local: 28 Sept 2026, 09:43:39 (America/Los Angeles)
- Epicentre
- 33.484° N, 116.477° 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 |
|---|---|---|
| La QuintaCalifornia, United States · pop. 40,476 | 25 km | INot felt |
| Palm DesertCalifornia, United States · pop. 51,869 | 28 km | INot felt |
| Cathedral CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,826 | 33 km | INot felt |
| IndioCalifornia, United States · pop. 87,533 | 35 km | INot felt |
| RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,261 | 100 km | INot felt |
| San DiegoCalifornia, United States · pop. 1,404,452 | 106 km | INot felt |
| Chula VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 265,757 | 109 km | INot felt |
| TijuanaBaja California, Mexico · pop. 1,922,523 | 120 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 | 1.2 ml | 12.9 km | 33.48° N, 116.48° W | – | Reviewed · 1 revision |
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 13 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
4 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M0.8 3 h 26 min ago. 94 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M1.2
4 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.38 | 0.6 | 11 |
| 0.38 | 0.3 | 13 |
| 1.18 | 0.8 | 11 |
| 2.15 | 0.7 | 10 |
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 ci41340263. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:05 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41340263). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.2 earthquake 25 km SW of La Quinta, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41340263-m1-2-earthquake-25-km-sw-of-la-quinta-california-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41340263. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.