Every recorded earthquake within 30 km

Earthquakes near San Juan Capistrano, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in San Juan Capistrano in the 24 hours to 4:55 am PST (12:55 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 36 km (22 mi) SW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS.

M 3.1

Latest: 12:36 pm PST on 7 December 2025 · 14 km (9 mi) SSE of San Juan Capistrano, CA

The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more near San Juan Capistrano was M 3.1, 14 km (9 mi) SSE of San Juan Capistrano, CA, at 12:36 pm PST on 7 December 2025, 13 km deep. 208 people reported feeling it to USGS. The estimated shaking in San Juan Capistrano was intensity III (weak), felt by some people at rest indoors. 6 smaller earthquakes have been recorded near San Juan Capistrano since; the newest is first in the list below.

No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded within 30 km (19 mi) of San Juan Capistrano in the last 24 hours.

Last 24 hours: 0
Last 7 days: 0
Last 30 days: 0 · since 2016, about one every 1 months
Last 12 months: 7 · largest M 3.1 on 7 December 2025
Since 2016: 92 earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km
Largest since 2016: M 3.6 on 6 June 2024, 27 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA
Reported felt: 27 of them have felt reports to USGS
Nearest mapped fault: Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 8 km from its surface trace

USGS · feed checked 3 seconds ago · newest earthquake in our database 5 minutes ago · this page 12:55 UTC · counts are earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km (19 mi) of the town centre; shaking is estimated for the town centre with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses

If you felt one

Was that an earthquake? — checks what was recorded near you in the last hour
Report what you felt to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us, and they are what produces the intensity maps
Expect aftershocks, and be ready to Drop, Cover, and Hold On if you feel one; if you are in a damaged building, go outside and move away from it (Ready.gov, FEMA; what to do during and after an earthquake)
Near the coast, go inland or to higher ground as soon as strong shaking stops (Ready.gov); official warnings are on Tsunami.gov
Earthquakes in California — with the state's activity score

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.

The last 30 days

Each mark is a day's largest quake within range; its size is the magnitude. Too few days here have any earthquake at all to draw a normal range.

The latest 50

2.2 27 km (17 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 26 Sep 29, 2026
3:17 am PDT
1.6 29 km (18 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jul 18, 2026
1:03 am PDT
2.0 29 km (18 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 2 Jan 29, 2026
9:34 pm PST
1.6 20 km (12 mi) SW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Jan 24, 2026
8:32 pm PST
1.8 22 km (14 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 8 Jan 11, 2026
1:45 am PST
1.6 30 km (18 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Jan 6, 2026
7:39 am PST
3.1 14 km (9 mi) SSE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 208 Dec 7, 2025
12:36 pm PST
1.6 29 km (18 mi) NE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Sep 6, 2025
6:10 am PDT
1.6 7 km (4 mi) SSW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Sep 4, 2025
6:40 am PDT
1.5 7 km (4 mi) SSW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Sep 4, 2025
5:42 am PDT
1.8 7 km (5 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jul 25, 2025
10:56 pm PDT
2.7 29 km (18 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 28 Jun 17, 2025
7:12 pm PDT
1.8 17 km (11 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Feb 19, 2025
10:15 pm PST
2.1 18 km (11 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 4 Feb 19, 2025
10:14 pm PST
1.8 18 km (11 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Feb 19, 2025
10:14 pm PST
2.1 28 km (18 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Nov 21, 2024
8:27 pm PST
1.6 25 km (16 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Nov 16, 2024
11:34 am PST
2.3 6 km (4 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 16 Oct 15, 2024
9:53 am PDT
1.5 30 km (18 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Aug 14, 2024
3:48 am PDT
1.7 7 km (4 mi) E of San Juan Capistrano, CA Aug 7, 2024
3:35 pm PDT
1.9 25 km (15 mi) W of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Aug 4, 2024
4:20 pm PDT
1.5 8 km (5 mi) E of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jul 31, 2024
3:34 pm PDT
1.8 28 km (17 mi) NE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jul 27, 2024
10:53 pm PDT
2.0 30 km (19 mi) NNE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 3 Jul 18, 2024
9:57 pm PDT
1.7 28 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jun 14, 2024
4:06 am PDT
1.7 27 km (17 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 13 Jun 6, 2024
5:08 pm PDT
3.4 27 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1,022 Jun 6, 2024
5:04 pm PDT
3.6 27 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 3,895 Jun 6, 2024
4:52 pm PDT
2.8 27 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 613 Jun 5, 2024
1:46 pm PDT
1.7 14 km (9 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Feb 17, 2024
11:16 am PST
1.7 29 km (18 mi) WSW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Oct 13, 2023
3:21 am PDT
1.8 24 km (15 mi) NW of San Juan Capistrano, CA May 1, 2023
12:47 pm PDT
2.0 30 km (19 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Mar 11, 2023
2:41 pm PST
1.8 28 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Mar 11, 2023
1:45 pm PST
1.8 29 km (18 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Mar 11, 2023
2:34 am PST
1.6 18 km (11 mi) SSE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Feb 13, 2023
10:28 pm PST
1.6 6 km (4 mi) SSW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Dec 28, 2022
11:12 pm PST
2.1 28 km (18 mi) NE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Sep 13, 2022
7:20 pm PDT
1.6 26 km (16 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA May 27, 2022
8:42 am PDT
1.7 18 km (11 mi) WSW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Mar 1, 2022
10:02 am PST
1.9 28 km (17 mi) SW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jan 24, 2022
11:25 am PST
1.7 25 km (15 mi) SSE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jan 5, 2022
5:30 am PST
2.0 12 km (8 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Apr 16, 2021
8:01 am PDT
1.8 6 km (4 mi) S of San Juan Capistrano, CA Mar 23, 2021
3:25 am PDT
1.5 29 km (18 mi) NE of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 1 Jan 22, 2021
10:08 pm PST
1.9 6 km (3 mi) SSE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Nov 24, 2020
8:02 am PST
1.9 30 km (19 mi) NE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Sep 14, 2020
1:40 pm PDT
1.8 29 km (18 mi) WSW of San Juan Capistrano, CA Aug 22, 2020
2:37 pm PDT
1.8 28 km (17 mi) NE of San Juan Capistrano, CA Jun 26, 2020
10:59 am PDT
2.2 28 km (18 mi) WNW of San Juan Capistrano, CA · felt by 95 Jun 26, 2020
12:37 am PDT

From the QuakeIndex database, which reads the USGS feed every 30 seconds and holds the USGS catalogue for the US from 2016 (M1.5+). Times are San Juan Capistrano time. Distances are from the town centre. Quakes USGS named after San Juan Capistrano are listed even when they are further out.

Show these earthquakes on your own site: a free card with the latest quakes near San Juan Capistrano, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.

On the map

Map loads when it scrolls into view

The white circle is San Juan Capistrano; dots are the 50 most recent earthquakes within 30 km. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Estimated shaking in San Juan Capistrano

The strongest shaking in San Juan Capistrano from a quake since 2016 is estimated at intensity III (weak), from the M 3.1 on 7 December 2025, 14 km away. Intensity II and III are felt by some people at rest indoors; IV by most people indoors; V and above wakes sleepers and moves objects.

Magnitude	When	Distance	Shaking in San Juan Capistrano (est.)
M 3.1	Dec 7, 2025	14 km	III · Weak · felt by 208
M 3.6	Jun 6, 2024	27 km	II · Weak · felt by 3,895
M 3.4	Jun 6, 2024	27 km	II · Weak · felt by 1,022
M 2.3	Oct 15, 2024	6 km	II · Weak · felt by 16
M 2.5	Jul 14, 2017	6 km	II · Weak

An estimate for the town centre from magnitude, depth and distance, with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses (Atkinson & Wald, 2007), on the Modified Mercalli scale. All 5 reach intensity II or more in town, where people at rest start to notice. Ground conditions change it street by street. It describes the past, not a hazard.

Before 2016

The USGS record since 1900 lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km of San Juan Capistrano; the five largest:

6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 34 km WNW of San Juan Capistrano 1933
6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 33 km NE of San Juan Capistrano 1910
5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 34 km WNW of San Juan Capistrano 1933
5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 26 km NNE of San Juan Capistrano 1938
5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 33 km NE of San Juan Capistrano 1910

USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015. This is the record, not a forecast.

Nearest mapped faults

Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 8 km from its surface trace
San Joaquin Hills thrust, 11 km from its surface trace
San Onofre fault, 18 km from its surface trace

USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Near is not the same as on.

Nearby towns

Laguna Niguel 5 km · Dana Point 5 km · Aliso Viejo 9 km · Mission Viejo 11 km · Laguna Hills 13 km · Lake Forest 16 km · Rancho Santa Margarita 16 km · Irvine 24 km

Be ready

Earthquakes cannot be predicted, here or anywhere, so the useful step is the one taken beforehand. The advice below is from the agencies responsible for it.

Ready.gov: earthquakes (FEMA) — what to do before, during and after, including Drop, Cover, and Hold On
Build a kit (FEMA) — water, food and supplies for several days; our summary
USGS: preparedness — the hazard behind the advice, from the agency that records every quake on this page
The Great ShakeOut — the yearly earthquake drill, with material for homes, schools and workplaces
ShakeAlert covers San Juan Capistrano, CA: alerts reach phones through Wireless Emergency Alerts and the MyShake app, seconds before shaking arrives
Tsunami.gov (NOAA) — the official tsunami warnings for the coast; a quake page here never stands in for one
California Earthquake Authority — retrofit grants and the state's not-for-profit earthquake insurance