California earthquakes

M3.8 earthquake 5km E of Morongo Valley, CA

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 5km E of Morongo Valley, CA on Tue, Jan 1, 1985, 9:24 PM PST (05:24 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.9 10km ENE of Desert Hot Springs, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Morongo Valley forecast More in California

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 3.8 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from: Southern California Seismic Network
Local time: Tue, Jan 1, 1985, 9:24 PM PST
UTC: 1985-01-02 05:24:58 UTC
Depth: 7.7 km (4.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 34.046° N, 116.529° W
Region: California
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.77	ML, local (Richter)	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · 12 stations
3.8	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (IV) at Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Joshua Tree, Morongo Valley, North Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Yucca Valley. Felt (III) at Moreno and Palm Springs.

From the USGS event page for ci55737. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 36°
Stations used: 0

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 184 in the 60 days after this one and 180 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 184.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci55737 (also filed as usp0002an2). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC.