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Location:
21km SSW of La Quinta, CA
Period:
13 Mar 2018 03:46:54 - 14 Mar 2018 17:19:42 (1 day 13 hours 32 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
Salton Buttes(77km)
Earthquakes:
26
45 swarms found nearby.
2001
S20011031.1(10.8km)
31 Oct
10 days 17 hours
471 earthquakes
2002
2 Jan
3 days 5 hours
53 earthquakes
S20021024.3(16.5km)
23 Oct
2 days 17 hours
38 earthquakes
2003
12 Nov
1 day 17 hours
31 earthquakes
2005
S20050612.1(17.7km)
12 Jun
26 days 19 hours
904 earthquakes
S20050820.1(14.6km)
19 Aug
3 days 23 hours
96 earthquakes
2009
S20090818.1(15.4km)
17 Aug
1 day 21 hours
39 earthquakes
2010
S20100209.1(12.1km)
8 Feb
3 days 22 hours
44 earthquakes
S20100405.6(26.2km)
4 Apr
1 day 11 hours
38 earthquakes
5 Apr
5 days 18 hours
62 earthquakes
12 Jun
9 days 5 hours
239 earthquakes
S20100708.1(13.9km)
7 Jul
35 days 19 hours
1709 earthquakes
S20101203.2(14.7km)
2 Dec
10 days 0 hours
68 earthquakes
2011
S20110319.1(10.0km)
18 Mar
1 day 23 hours
34 earthquakes
S20110416.1(18.8km)
15 Apr
7 days 6 hours
90 earthquakes
S20110727.1(16.3km)
26 Jul
4 days 1 hours
42 earthquakes
2012
20 May
4 days 2 hours
45 earthquakes
S20120622.1(10.8km)
21 Jun
3 days 19 hours
39 earthquakes
S20120630.1(12.3km)
29 Jun
2 days 0 hours
31 earthquakes
2013
S20130311.1(11.5km)
10 Mar
72 days 2 hours
2118 earthquakes
19 Sep
1 day 10 hours
31 earthquakes
S20130922.1(14.5km)
21 Sep
8 days 10 hours
91 earthquakes
30 Dec
8 days 18 hours
91 earthquakes
2014
S20140808.1(11.6km)
7 Aug
1 day 13 hours
28 earthquakes
2015
S20150401.1(12.8km)
31 Mar
38 days 7 hours
543 earthquakes
S20150531.1(15.6km)
31 May
2 days 9 hours
45 earthquakes
2016
S20160610.1(10.9km)
9 Jun
33 days 4 hours
1773 earthquakes
S20160720.2(12.9km)
19 Jul
6 days 5 hours
68 earthquakes
S20161026.1(14.0km)
25 Oct
5 days 21 hours
73 earthquakes
S20161230.1(16.4km)
29 Dec
4 days 7 hours
48 earthquakes
2017
9 Nov
2 days 20 hours
44 earthquakes
S20171207.1(29.1km)
6 Dec
4 days 12 hours
120 earthquakes
2020
4 Apr
40 days 3 hours
2928 earthquakes
2 Jun
2 days 12 hours
63 earthquakes
25 Sep
2 days 2 hours
44 earthquakes
2022
13 Jan
4 days 5 hours
157 earthquakes
S20220519.2(12.4km)
18 May
1 day 8 hours
29 earthquakes
13 Jul
1 day 12 hours
26 earthquakes
S20220825.1(10.9km)
25 Aug
1 day 3 hours
27 earthquakes
S20220922.1(12.5km)
22 Sep
1 day 18 hours
31 earthquakes
S20220930.2(11.9km)
29 Sep
4 days 5 hours
69 earthquakes
31 Dec
2 days 20 hours
86 earthquakes
2023
S20230324.1(20.4km)
23 Mar
2 days 2 hours
50 earthquakes
2024
20 Jun
3 days 0 hours
41 earthquakes
2025
16 Nov
3 days 16 hours
56 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm S20180314.1 Near La Quinta, California

Seismic swarm S20180314.1 occurred 21 km south-southwest of La Quinta in the Coachella Valley of southern California. The sequence began at 03:46 on 13 March 2018 and concluded at 17:19 on 14 March 2018, spanning 37 hours and 32 minutes. During this interval, 26 earthquakes were recorded.

The events ranged in magnitude from 0.2 to 2.1, with the largest reaching 2.1 at 06:13 on 13 March. Most hypocenters clustered between 11 km and 15 km depth, though a few shallower events occurred near 8–10 km. Activity showed two main pulses: an initial cluster on the morning of 13 March followed by a secondary group early on 14 March. All events remained below the threshold for felt shaking or damage.

The Coachella Valley lies within the southern San Andreas Fault system, where the Pacific and North American plates interact along a transform boundary. The region experiences distributed deformation across multiple fault strands, including the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Banning faults. Crustal extension associated with the Salton Trough further contributes to elevated seismicity. Depths of 8–16 km align with the brittle–ductile transition zone typical of this tectonic setting.

Historical records document 32 swarms in the same area since 1 January 2000. Swarm frequency varied across years, with notable concentrations in 2010 (six events), 2013 (four), and 2016 (four). These recurrent swarms reflect episodic stress release along fault segments that accommodate regional plate motion.

Seismic swarms in this locale commonly arise from fluid migration or aseismic slip transients rather than mainshock–aftershock sequences. The modest magnitudes and tight spatiotemporal clustering observed in S20180314.1 are consistent with such mechanisms. Continued monitoring supports improved understanding of strain accumulation ahead of potential larger earthquakes on the southern San Andreas Fault.

References
SeismoSight internal swarm classification S20180314.1
California Geological Survey regional tectonic summaries
USGS Earthquake Catalog (historical swarm counts 2000–2017)