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M1.5 earthquake 15 km W of Desert Hot Springs, California, United States

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 15 km W of Desert Hot Springs, California, United States at 15:50 local time (22:50 UTC) on 16 Oct 2026, at a depth of 16 km, according to USGS.

revised from M1.6

Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-16 23:07 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
1.5micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
revised from 1.6
Depth
16 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-10-16 22:50:53 UTC
Local: 16 Oct 2026, 15:50:53 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
33.982° N, 116.655° 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
Desert Hot SpringsCalifornia, United States · pop. 28,33515 kmINot felt
GarnetCalifornia, United States · pop. 7,54317 kmINot felt
Palm SpringsCalifornia, United States · pop. 47,37119 kmINot felt
BanningCalifornia, United States · pop. 30,94522 kmINot felt
Yucca ValleyCalifornia, United States · pop. 21,60025 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,26169 kmINot felt
IrvineCalifornia, United States · pop. 256,927113 kmINot felt
Santa AnaCalifornia, United States · pop. 310,227115 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 mlwas 1.516 km33.98° N, 116.66° W–Reviewed · 2 revisions

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 16 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 6.5× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 3.5× 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

45 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M1.9 9 days ago. 11 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M1.5

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

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
32.411.510
36.320.59
65.781.117
96.991.216
138.770.89
142.731.113
180.131.04
189.501.013
221.600.417
228.280.512
232.081.214
262.451.217
262.481.618
276.720.514
283.010.69
283.291.010
296.230.515
307.550.818
350.191.08
361.861.117
387.960.89
395.190.69
411.990.94
413.960.51
415.850.81
428.281.915
428.300.82
428.891.514
429.351.51
440.020.616
467.010.714
471.200.99
485.470.514
533.780.93
540.430.520
556.040.717
575.951.417
577.061.55
583.370.61
586.591.18
587.400.99
597.571.115
629.820.917
631.520.414
647.721.313
  1. 1.917 km ENE of Banning, California, United States11-03 19:07
  2. 1.616 km NE of Banning, California, United States10-27 21:19
  3. 1.56 km NNE of Cherry Valley, California, United States11-09 23:54
  4. 1.54 km ESE of Cherry Valley, California, United States11-03 19:44
  5. 1.510 km ESE of Big Bear City, California, United States11-03 20:11
  6. 1.516 km ENE of Valle Vista, California, United States10-18 07:15
  7. 1.4Near Beaumont, California, United States11-09 22:48
  8. 1.318 km NE of Banning, California, United States11-12 22:33
  9. 1.216 km NE of Banning, California, United States10-27 21:18
  10. 1.213 km ESE of Banning, California, United States10-20 23:50
  11. 1.28 km NE of Banning, California, United States10-26 14:55
  12. 1.1Near Cherry Valley, California, United States11-10 09:26
  13. 1.14 km NNE of Banning, California, United States11-01 00:42
  14. 1.15 km NE of Cherry Valley, California, United States10-22 21:34
  15. 1.118 km ENE of Banning, California, United States11-10 20:25
  16. 1.19 km NNE of Banning, California, United States10-19 16:37
  17. 1.06 km N of Banning, California, United States10-28 18:08
  18. 1.0Near Cherry Valley, California, United States10-31 13:02
  19. 1.09 km ENE of Banning, California, United States10-24 20:21
  20. 1.0Near Banning, California, United States10-24 10:58
  21. 0.9Near Cherry Valley, California, United States11-05 14:02
  22. 0.913 km E of Garnet, California, United States11-03 02:50
  23. 0.9Near Cherry Valley, California, United States11-10 10:14
  24. 0.95 km N of Yucca Valley, California, United States11-08 04:37
  25. 0.95 km E of Cherry Valley, California, United States11-12 04:39

Did you feel it?

Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.

Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.

Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

Event id ci41348415. First recorded here 16 Oct 2026, 22:54:05 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41348415). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.5 earthquake 15 km W of Desert Hot Springs, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41348415-m1-5-earthquake-15-km-w-of-desert-hot-springs-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41348415. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.