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Location:
9km WSW of Niland, CA
Period:
20 Sep 2022 11:59:34 - 21 Sep 2022 11:11:57 (23 hours 12 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
Salton Buttes(2km), Prieto, Cerro(89km)
Earthquakes:
39
102 swarms found nearby.
2000
11 May
2 days 10 hours
52 earthquakes
2001
S20011113.1(17.5km)
13 Nov
23 hours
99 earthquakes
2002
24 Feb
1 day 2 hours
31 earthquakes
2003
S20030301.1(29.4km)
1 Mar
23 hours
52 earthquakes
13 Apr
1 day 18 hours
32 earthquakes
S20030524.1(24.6km)
23 May
1 day 22 hours
161 earthquakes
20 Sep
1 day 8 hours
31 earthquakes
2004
15 Mar
2 days 20 hours
64 earthquakes
2005
29 Aug
10 hours
24 earthquakes
31 Aug
11 days 21 hours
953 earthquakes
19 Sep
2 days 11 hours
50 earthquakes
2008
15 Mar
5 days 22 hours
111 earthquakes
27 May
9 hours
47 earthquakes
S20080602.1(12.0km)
2 Jun
2 days 13 hours
145 earthquakes
29 Sep
1 day 4 hours
37 earthquakes
S20081030.1(27.8km)
30 Oct
2 days 14 hours
105 earthquakes
2009
S20090321.1(17.3km)
21 Mar
2 days 3 hours
50 earthquakes
S20090324.1(18.3km)
24 Mar
6 days 21 hours
410 earthquakes
17 Apr
1 day 13 hours
29 earthquakes
13 Jun
1 day 5 hours
53 earthquakes
1 Aug
3 days 10 hours
106 earthquakes
S20090924.1(19.2km)
24 Sep
19 hours
28 earthquakes
2 Oct
2 days 23 hours
43 earthquakes
S20091101.1(13.3km)
1 Nov
12 hours
26 earthquakes
7 Nov
5 hours
36 earthquakes
17 Nov
1 day 19 hours
142 earthquakes
23 Nov
4 days 3 hours
69 earthquakes
2010
10 Jan
10 days 2 hours
233 earthquakes
22 Jan
2 days 3 hours
46 earthquakes
21 Feb
1 day 20 hours
28 earthquakes
4 Apr
6 days 21 hours
132 earthquakes
PS20100405.1(110.7km)
4 Apr
1 hours
5 earthquakes
22 Apr
1 day 4 hours
38 earthquakes
5 Aug
1 day 0 hours
26 earthquakes
S20100828.1(11.8km)
28 Aug
1 day 2 hours
32 earthquakes
11 Nov
1 day 10 hours
28 earthquakes
S20101213.1(11.9km)
13 Dec
12 hours
49 earthquakes
S20101215.1(19.1km)
15 Dec
1 day 4 hours
101 earthquakes
27 Dec
11 hours
66 earthquakes
31 Dec
1 day 14 hours
33 earthquakes
2011
7 Jan
2 days 20 hours
94 earthquakes
27 Mar
1 day 18 hours
42 earthquakes
2 Apr
1 day 12 hours
34 earthquakes
1 Jul
1 day 2 hours
36 earthquakes
2012
8 Feb
2 days 0 hours
29 earthquakes
19 Feb
1 day 18 hours
86 earthquakes
26 Feb
2 days 1 hours
88 earthquakes
29 Feb
14 hours
34 earthquakes
3 Mar
3 days 11 hours
72 earthquakes
22 Mar
2 days 22 hours
73 earthquakes
20 May
2 days 1 hours
33 earthquakes
8 Jun
19 hours
95 earthquakes
S20120826.1(20.7km)
26 Aug
11 days 23 hours
972 earthquakes
S20120910.1(15.1km)
9 Sep
1 day 1 hours
28 earthquakes
24 Sep
1 day 17 hours
51 earthquakes
2013
18 Feb
4 days 14 hours
57 earthquakes
3 Apr
2 days 12 hours
59 earthquakes
28 Apr
2 days 2 hours
41 earthquakes
16 May
5 days 21 hours
135 earthquakes
3 Jun
3 days 15 hours
134 earthquakes
19 Aug
3 days 21 hours
47 earthquakes
27 Aug
1 day 17 hours
37 earthquakes
8 Oct
1 day 23 hours
83 earthquakes
13 Oct
2 days 10 hours
83 earthquakes
16 Oct
1 day 21 hours
50 earthquakes
31 Oct
16 hours
31 earthquakes
27 Nov
1 day 7 hours
52 earthquakes
21 Dec
1 day 8 hours
65 earthquakes
2014
28 Mar
1 day 16 hours
34 earthquakes
2015
21 May
1 day 13 hours
38 earthquakes
2016
29 Jul
1 day 9 hours
30 earthquakes
S20160926.1(11.0km)
26 Sep
6 days 7 hours
322 earthquakes
31 Oct
23 hours
39 earthquakes
S20161231.1(23.8km)
31 Dec
3 days 4 hours
317 earthquakes
2018
17 Jun
1 day 9 hours
26 earthquakes
2019
17 Jan
4 days 13 hours
71 earthquakes
2020
5 May
1 day 14 hours
56 earthquakes
9 Aug
4 days 12 hours
319 earthquakes
30 Sep
9 days 1 hours
1724 earthquakes
22 Oct
2 days 5 hours
53 earthquakes
13 Nov
23 hours
38 earthquakes
26 Nov
1 day 10 hours
27 earthquakes
2021
4 Jan
21 hours
43 earthquakes
10 Jan
6 hours
26 earthquakes
31 Jan
23 hours
38 earthquakes
8 Feb
3 days 9 hours
117 earthquakes
18 Mar
14 hours
27 earthquakes
4 Jun
19 days 4 hours
2347 earthquakes
S20210611.1(25.9km)
11 Jun
4 hours
26 earthquakes
23 Aug
2 days 11 hours
48 earthquakes
2022
S20220420.1(29.5km)
19 Apr
3 days 1 hours
71 earthquakes
2023
30 Apr
17 hours
68 earthquakes
3 Oct
1 day 11 hours
29 earthquakes
9 Dec
18 hours
34 earthquakes
2024
VS20240211.1(10.0km)
10 Feb
1 day 21 hours
26 earthquakes
14 Feb
1 day 12 hours
31 earthquakes
S20240518.1(28.4km)
18 May
2 days 19 hours
306 earthquakes
20 Dec
12 hours
48 earthquakes
2025
10 Apr
1 day 9 hours
64 earthquakes
22 Apr
10 hours
28 earthquakes
11 Jul
1 day 18 hours
132 earthquakes
2026
S20260510.1(23.5km)
9 May
4 days 16 hours
477 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm VS20220921.2 Near Niland, California

An earthquake swarm designated VS20220921.2 occurred 9 km west-southwest of Niland, California, beginning at 11:59 on 20 September 2022 and concluding at 11:11 on 21 September 2022. Over 23 hours and 12 minutes, the sequence produced 39 earthquakes, with magnitudes ranging from 0.9 to 2.3 and focal depths predominantly between 0 and 3 km, except for one deeper event at 7 km.

The swarm exhibited typical characteristics of clustered, low-magnitude activity, with the largest events (magnitudes 2.1–2.3) occurring in two main pulses around 20:09–22:44 on 20 September and 09:05–09:17 on 21 September. Depths remained shallow throughout, consistent with activity in the uppermost crust.

Niland lies within the Imperial Valley portion of the Salton Trough, a tectonically active pull-apart basin formed by the transition between the San Andreas Fault system and the Imperial Fault. This region experiences frequent earthquake swarms driven by right-lateral shear, geothermal fluid migration, and minor magmatic influences associated with the nearby Salton Sea geothermal field. The Brawley Seismic Zone, which extends through this area, is known for producing swarm sequences rather than isolated mainshock-aftershock patterns.

Historical records since 2000 document 91 swarms in the immediate vicinity. Annual counts include single swarms in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019; multiple events in 2003 (4), 2005 (3), 2008 (5), 2011 (4), 2016 (4), and 2020 (6); and higher activity in 2009 (11), 2010 (13), 2012 (11), 2013 (13), and 2021 (8). The 2022 swarm represents the sole recorded sequence that year up to the event date.

Such swarms are common in this extensional regime, where fault creep and fluid pressure changes facilitate episodic slip without producing large-magnitude events. Depths under 3 km align with the shallow seismogenic zone influenced by high heat flow and sedimentary basin fill.

References

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program regional reports on the Salton Trough and Imperial Valley.
California Geological Survey summaries of Imperial Fault zone tectonics.
Peer-reviewed literature on Brawley Seismic Zone swarm mechanisms (e.g., studies in Journal of Geophysical Research).