QuakeIndex

Fault · California

San Clemente fault

177 kmlong (110 mi), as mapped
1–5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
32quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 1 to 5 mm a year — 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 inches) every century.

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

USGS maps it as 3 sections: Catalina Basin section, Kimki fault section, San Clemente Island section.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–0.

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

San Andreas faultElsinore faultSan Jacinto faultNewport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon faultSierra Madre faultSan Diego Trough faultCatalina faultPalos Verdes faultSan Pedro Basin faultSanta Cruz Island faultMalibu Coast faultSanta Cruz faultDume faultPuente Hills blind thrust systemSanta Monica faultSan Onofre faultSan Joaquin Hills thrustRaymond faultCarlsbad faultCarslbad Ridge faultHollywood faultRed Hill-Etiwanda Avenue fault
The San Clemente fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 32 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), . 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.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.9 10 km WNW of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
    2025-11-30 · 7 km from the trace
  2. M 3.0 17 km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA
    2025-11-27 · 8 km from the trace
  3. M 3.2 72 km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
    2025-07-07 · 3 km from the trace
  4. M 2.6 68 km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
    2025-07-07 · 2 km from the trace
  5. M 2.6 6 km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
    2024-12-04 · 1 km from the trace
  6. M 3.0 25 km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
    2024-11-28 · 5 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.