M 3.3 Earthquake 17 km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 3.3 ml earthquake struck 17 km east of Desert Hot Springs, California, on July 1, 2026 at 12:31 UTC.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on August 11, 2026 and geographically references Southern California. Its severity classification of "low" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Southern California.
What Happened
A M 3.3 ml earthquake occurred at 17 km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA. The event was recorded at 1785603066460 (2026-07-01 12:31:06 UTC) with a depth of 7.29 km.
Location Details
The earthquake was located at coordinates 33.9787, -116.3210, 17 km east of Desert Hot Springs, CA. The shallow depth of 7.29 km (less than 20 km) places it in the shallow category.
Impact Assessment
The event was felt by 1 person, with a reported intensity (CDI) of 2.7. No tsunami was generated (tsunami status: 0) and no alert level was issued.
What You Should Know
Earthquakes of this magnitude (M 2.5-3.9) are often felt but rarely cause damage. Minor aftershocks remain possible.
Source
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (782 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to August 11, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.