California earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 5 km NE of Heber, California

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 5 km NE of Heber, California on Sat, May 18, 1940, 11:01 PM GMT-8 (07:01 UTC), 16 km (10 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.7 7km W of Hermosillo, B.C., MX. This one was a foreshock.

Heber forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (ml), light
Local time
UTC
1940-05-19 07:01:00 UTC
Depth
16.0 km (9.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
32.766° N, 115.483° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 40 in the 60 days after this one and 13 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.37km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  2. 4.17km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  3. 4.27km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  4. 4.07km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  5. 4.08km S of Calipatria, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  6. 4.37km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  7. 3.67km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  8. 3.511km ENE of Holtville, CA · 31536 days ago · 6 km deep · 22 km away
  9. 3.512km SSE of Holtville, CA · 31536 days ago · 6 km deep · 16 km away
  10. 3.47km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31536 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  11. 3.824km ESE of Estacion Coahuila, B.C., MX · 31535 days ago · 6 km deep · 97 km away
  12. 3.47km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31535 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  13. 3.86km W of Holtville, CA · 31535 days ago · 6 km deep · 6 km away
  14. 4.27km S of Brawley, CA · 31534 days ago · 6 km deep · 18 km away
  15. 3.634km S of Progreso, B.C., MX · 31534 days ago · 6 km deep · 57 km away
  16. 3.514km E of Puebla, B.C., MX · 31534 days ago · 6 km deep · 35 km away
  17. 3.612km WNW of Tecolots, B.C., MX · 31533 days ago · 6 km deep · 39 km away
  18. 3.510km E of Holtville, CA · 31533 days ago · 6 km deep · 21 km away
  19. 3.529km NW of Los Algodones, B.C., MX · 31524 days ago · 6 km deep · 50 km away
  20. 3.426km N of Tecolots, B.C., MX · 31523 days ago · 6 km deep · 45 km away
  21. 4.28km WNW of Delta, B.C., MX · 31523 days ago · 6 km deep · 48 km away
  22. 4.77km W of Hermosillo, B.C., MX · 31523 days ago · 6 km deep · 54 km away
  23. 5.026km NE of Pine Valley, CA · 31521 days ago · 6 km deep · 81 km away
  24. 4.325km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 31521 days ago · 6 km deep · 80 km away
  25. 3.414km W of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 31521 days ago · 6 km deep · 85 km away
  26. 3.317km SSE of Borrego Springs, CA · 31521 days ago · 6 km deep · 87 km away
  27. 3.19km NE of Imperial, CA · 31521 days ago · 6 km deep · 15 km away
  28. 3.542km N of Yuma, AZ · 31520 days ago · 6 km deep · 82 km away
  29. 3.74km NE of Heber, CA · 31520 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  30. 3.420km ENE of Holtville, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 30 km away
  31. 3.34km NE of Heber, CA · 31518 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  32. 4.34km NE of Heber, CA · 31518 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  33. 3.64km NE of Heber, CA · 31499 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  34. 3.44km NE of Heber, CA · 31497 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  35. 3.111km E of Brawley, CA · 31491 days ago · 6 km deep · 24 km away
  36. 3.921km WNW of Westmorland, CA · 31482 days ago · 6 km deep · 51 km away
  37. 3.718km NW of Westmorland, CA · 31482 days ago · 6 km deep · 49 km away
  38. 3.522km SSE of Salton City, CA · 31482 days ago · 6 km deep · 53 km away
  39. 3.819km SSE of Salton City, CA · 31481 days ago · 6 km deep · 56 km away
  40. 3.83km SW of Holtville, CA · 31480 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away

Before

  1. 5.27km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  2. 5.27km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  3. 4.77km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  4. 4.77km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  5. 5.46km E of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 10 km away
  6. 4.97km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  7. 4.47km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  8. 5.27km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  9. 4.77km ESE of Imperial, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  10. 6.9The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 13 km away
  11. 3.71km W of Puebla, B.C., MX · 31557 days ago · 6 km deep · 25 km away
  12. 3.37km WSW of Puebla, B.C., MX · 31557 days ago · 6 km deep · 25 km away
  13. 3.18km WSW of Puebla, B.C., MX · 31557 days ago · 6 km deep · 24 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ushis1307. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC.