QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Carlsbad, CA

USGS: 29km WSW of Carlsbad, CA

34 km (21 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, CA · 128 km (80 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA

10:17 pm PDT, Sep 17, 2016 · · 15 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Carlsbad Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 69 kmSan Diego County 81 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
10:17 pm PDT on 17 September 2016 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, CA · earthquakes near Carlsbad
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 69 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Carslbad Ridge fault, 4 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 3665 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, CA, at 10:17 pm PDT on 17 September 2016 (05:17 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Oceanside.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 24 km WSW 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 33.0652, -117.6393. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 69 km (43 mi) N earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 81 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 6km N of La Jolla, CA
  2. 2.3 6km NNW of La Jolla, CA
  3. 1.6 26km SW of Dana Point, CA
  4. 1.9 40km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  5. 2.6 40km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  6. 2.2 39km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  7. 2.0 12km NW of Camp Pendleton South, CA
  8. 2.1 25km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  9. 1.6 2km SSE of Dana Point, CA
  10. 1.6 16km SW of La Jolla, CA
  11. 1.5 24km SW of Dana Point, CA
  12. 2.2 28km SW of La Jolla, CA
  13. 1.6 42km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  14. 2.3 45km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  15. 1.6 47km WSW of Carlsbad, 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.