February 9, 2008 Earthquake: Baja California, Mexico

Name: February 9, 2008 Earthquake: Baja California, Mexico
Start: 2008-02-09
Location: Baja California, Mexico

February 9, 2008 · M5.1

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Baja California, Mexico on February 9, 2008 at 07:12:05 UTC, 3 km below the surface.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date: February 9, 2008
Time: 07:12:05 UTC
Place: Baja California, Mexico
Magnitude: 5.1 (Mw)
Magnitude scales: Mw 5.1 · mb 5.1 · ML 5.5
Focal depth: 3 km (2 mi)
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 32.456° N, 115.315° W
Country: Mexico
Region: North America and Hawaii
USGS record: The USGS’s page for this earthquake

Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. ML: local magnitude, the original Richter scale. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What happened

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

Two bridges slightly damaged and power outages and disruption of cellular telephone service at Mexicali. Felt (VI) at Mexicali. Also felt at Ensenada, Tecate and Tijuana. Felt (V) at Calexico and Heber; (IV) at Brawley, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial and Winterhaven; (III) at Blythe, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Los Angeles, Mission Viejo, Niland, Oceanside, Pine Valley, San Diego and Westmorland; (II) at Aliso Viejo, Campo, Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Indian Wells, Indio, Jamul, La Jolla, La Mesa, La Quinta, Ladera Ranch, Lakeside, Lemon Grove, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, San Clemente, San Marcos, Santee and Spring Valley, California. Felt throughout southern California from Palm Springs to Calexico and from San Diego to Winterhaven. Felt (IV) at Yuma and (III) at Somerton and Wellton, Arizona. Also felt at Cibola, Parker, Peoria and Tempe, Arizona.

From the USGS event page for ci14346868. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Magnitude estimates

The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.1	Mw, moment	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · 6 stations
5.1	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed
5.15	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.1	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Two bridges slightly damaged and power outages

and disruption of cellular telephone service at

Mexicali. Felt (VI) at Mexicali. Also felt at

Ensenada, Tecate and Tijuana. (reference #1053)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

#1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 2008 The 2000s Every quake the USGS located in 2008 Recent earthquakes near here This day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 7766. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event ci14346868, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.