QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Dana Point, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Dana Point in the 24 hours to 3:37 am PST (11:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 31 km (19 mi) SW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dana Point

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) southwest of Dana Point, CA, at 11:21 am PST on 20 February 2019 (19:21 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 21km SW of Dana Point, CA

90 km (56 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 26 km (16 mi) SW of Laguna Niguel, CA

11:21 am PST, Feb 20, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dana Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 38 kmLos Angeles County 101 kmSan Diego County 108 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:21 am PST on 20 February 2019 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) southwest of Dana Point, CA · earthquakes near Dana Point
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 38 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes fault, 6 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2822 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Dana Point, 21 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Aliso Viejo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 41 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 2km ENE of Westminster, CA · 48 km NNW of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 33.3435, -117.8732. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 38 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 101 km (63 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 108 km (67 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Diego County
Ventura County, CA 162 km (101 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 5km E of Seal Beach, CA
  2. 1.7 4km S of Huntington Beach, CA
  3. 2.6 44km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  4. 3.2 21km S of San Pedro, CA
  5. 2.1 49km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  6. 2.1 41km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  7. 2.0 49km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  8. 1.8 49km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  9. 1.7 22km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  10. 3.5 23km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  11. 1.7 4km WNW of Huntington Beach, CA
  12. 1.7 21km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  13. 1.7 5km ENE of San Joaquin Hills, CA
  14. 1.7 28km SSW of San Clemente, CA
  15. 1.8 6km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.