QuakeIndex

Fault · California

San Joaquin Hills thrust

26 kmlong (16 mi), as mapped
not measuredhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
7quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

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

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.4 in 1933 (The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake) — about 130,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 60 kilotons of TNT.

This week vs. its last ten years

Too quiet to rank: fewer than half a year's worth of weeks with any M1.5+ quake within 5 km, in ten years. A single quake here would read as "unusual", so we do not score it.

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

San Andreas faultElsinore faultSan Jacinto faultNewport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon faultSan Clemente faultHelendale-South Lockhart faultSan Gabriel faultSierra Madre faultSan Diego Trough faultCalico-Hidalgo faultCatalina faultPalos Verdes faultSan Pedro Basin faultNorth Frontal thrust systemMalibu Coast faultDume faultSimi-Santa Rosa faultPuente Hills blind thrust systemSan Gorgonio Pass faultSanta Monica faultNorthridge blind thrustSan Onofre faultCleghorn faultRaymond faultCarlsbad faultCrafton Hills faultVerdugo faultBanning faultCarslbad Ridge faultHollywood faultRed Hill-Etiwanda Avenue faultBeaumont Plain fault M 6.4 · 1933 · The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake M 6.0 · 1769 · Greater Los Angeles area, California
The San Joaquin Hills thrust as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 7 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 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake
    March 11, 1933 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  2. M 6.0 Greater Los Angeles area, California
    July 28, 1769 · epicentre 24 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 2.6 6 km S of Huntington Beach, CA
    2025-10-27 · 9 km from the trace
  2. M 3.4 3 km ENE of Newport Beach, CA
    2024-06-07 · 7 km from the trace
  3. M 3.6 2 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
    2024-06-06 · 7 km from the trace
  4. M 2.8 3 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
    2024-06-05 · 7 km from the trace
  5. M 3.4 3 km SE of Huntington Beach, CA
    2023-12-23 · 4 km from the trace
  6. M 2.6 4km SSW of Westminster, CA
    2020-08-22 · 10 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.