QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Elsinore fault

306 kmlong (190 mi), as mapped
> 5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
199quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides grind past each other faster than 5 mm a year — more than half a metre (20 inches) every century.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.3 in 1892 (The 1892 Laguna Salada, Baja California Earthquake, Mexico) — about 2,800,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 1.3 megatons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 7 sections: Chino section, Coyote Mountain section, Glen Ivy section, Julian section, Laguna Salada section, Temecula section, Whittier section.

This week vs. its last ten years

18/100

quiet

1 quake of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 18% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 1–3.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultSan Jacinto faultNewport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon faultSan Clemente faultLenwood-Lockhart faultHelendale-South Lockhart faultSan Gabriel faultSierra Madre faultSan Diego Trough faultCalico-Hidalgo faultCatalina faultPalos Verdes faultPisgah-Bullion faultCamp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain faultPinto Mountain fault (includes Morongo Valley fault)San Pedro Basin faultBrawley Seismic ZoneNorth Frontal thrust systemMalibu Coast faultJohnson Valley faultSimi-Santa Rosa faultImperial faultPuente Hills blind thrust systemMesquite Lake faultSan Gorgonio Pass faultExtra faultBullion Mountains faultSanta Monica faultMecca Hills faultNorthridge blind thrustHomestead Valley faultSan Onofre faultSan Joaquin Hills thrustCleghorn faultHidden Spring faultRaymond faultCarlsbad faultIndio Hills Fault ZoneBurnt Mountain faultCrafton Hills faultVerdugo faultCoachella Fan Fault ZoneBanning faultEureka Peak faultCarslbad Ridge faultYuha Well Fault ZoneLong Canyon faultHollywood faultSkeleton Canyon faultHot Springs faultOld Woman Springs faultRed Hill-Etiwanda Avenue faultYuha Basin faultsBeaumont Plain fault M 7.3 · 1892 · The 1892 Laguna Salada, Baja California Earthquake, Mexico M 6.5 · 1892 · Near Borrego Springs, California M 6.0 · 1769 · Greater Los Angeles area, California M 6.0 · 1910 · The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake
The Elsinore fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 199 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 7.3 The 1892 Laguna Salada, Baja California Earthquake, Mexico
    February 24, 1892 · epicentre 22 km from the trace
  2. M 6.5 Near Borrego Springs, California
    May 28, 1892 · epicentre 22 km from the trace
  3. M 6.0 Greater Los Angeles area, California
    July 28, 1769 · epicentre 1 km from the trace
  4. M 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake
    May 15, 1910 · epicentre on the trace
  5. M 5.2 5 km S of Julian, CA
    April 14, 2025 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  6. M 4.8 11 km E of Ocotillo, CA
    December 1, 2023 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  7. M 4.2 5km NW of Palomar Observatory, CA
    April 1, 2023 · epicentre on the trace
  8. M 4.1 10 km SW of Corona, CA
    May 1, 2024 · epicentre 5 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 3.0 10 km WSW of Corona, CA
    2026-08-12 · 4 km from the trace
  2. M 3.0 9 km W of Palomar Observatory, CA
    2026-07-31 · 2 km from the trace
  3. M 2.6 17 km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
    2026-07-16 · 10 km from the trace
  4. M 2.6 20 km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
    2026-05-16 · 5 km from the trace
  5. M 2.5 3 km WSW of Lake Henshaw, CA
    2026-05-12 · 2 km from the trace
  6. M 2.8 3 km WSW of Lake Henshaw, CA
    2026-03-30 · 2 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.