The shock originated at 15:40:41 local time (3:40:41 PM PDT) south of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico.

[7][8] By the distribution of aftershocks and using radar interferometry, the main shock rupture was found to have occurred on a previously unmapped fault in the Cucapah Mountains and beneath the Colorado River Delta.

[10] Mexicali, El Centro, San Diego, Ensenada, and Tijuana are situated in a very active seismic zone and surrounded by important faults.

Intensity VI (Strong) shaking was felt in the Imperial Valley towns of Ocotillo, Calipatria, Brawley, and Holtville.

[22] Pat Abbott, a professor emeritus of geology at San Diego State University, said, "Any quake of this size seems to pass some kind of threshold where it's large enough to disturb or trigger other faults.

A strong aftershock with a magnitude of 5.7 occurred on June 14, 2010, at 9:26:58 PM PDT, with an epicenter near Ocotillo in southwestern Imperial County and a focal depth of 5.0 km.

The quake rattled buildings in downtown Los Angeles, toppled bottles off shelves, and briefly halted rides at Disneyland.

Baja California state capital Mexicali was reported by Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) Director General Alfredo Elías Ayub as being without electricity.

[29] Multiple fires were caused by ruptured natural gas lines and damaged propane tanks,[32] and people were stuck in collapsed buildings as of the day after the quake.

[35] CNN reported that, "Pictures from Mexicali showed the sides ripped off buildings, toppled telephone poles, cracked roads, and supermarket aisles strewn with food that had fallen off shelves.

[30] According to the San Diego Union Tribune, the largest hospital in Mexicali sustained damage and was moving patients to other facilities.

[20] The quake was felt for about 40 seconds in Tijuana, Baja California, located 174 kilometers (108 mi) to the west-southwest, where it caused buildings to sway and knocked out power in parts of the city.

[33] The day after the quake, Baja California Governor José Guadalupe Osuna asked the federal government for a state of emergency to be declared.

[42] The earthquake broke at least two water mains, one at a Nordstrom department store in Fashion Valley Mall and another at Mission Bay High School.

[20] The Coronado Bridge over San Diego Bay was briefly closed by the California Highway Patrol as a precautionary measure.

[43] In El Centro, California, gas leaks, water main breaks, and collapsed chimneys and balconies were reported.

In the Yuma, Arizona area, 3,369 residents experienced a "relatively momentary [power] outage" from the quake, "but most were back in service shortly afterward".