Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near San Diego, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Diego in the 24 hours to 11:12 am PST (19:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.7, 152 km (95 mi) E, at 12:10 am PDT on 10 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 203 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Diego
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northwest of San Diego, CA, at 4:08 am PDT on 6 September 2018 (11:08 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km NNW of La Jolla, CA
18 km (11 mi) WNW of San Diego, CA · 17 km (10 mi) S of Encinitas, CA
- When
- 4:08 am PDT on 6 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) north-northwest of San Diego, CA · earthquakes near San Diego
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 50 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, under 1 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 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Diego, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In San Diego, 24 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: Del Mar, Solana Beach, Fairbanks Ranch, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Poway.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 32.9030, -117.2928. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 7km NNW of Lakeside, CA
- 1.5 7km SE of Bonita, CA
- 2.2 41km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.6 45km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.6 40km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.5 7km SE of Bonita, CA
- 1.6 6km SE of Bonita, CA
- 1.8 39km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.6 33km WSW of Coronado, CA
- 2.1 26km SW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.6 6km ESE of Chula Vista, CA
- 1.6 17km SW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.6 5km W of Chula Vista, CA
- 1.9 13km WSW of Coronado, CA
- 1.6 4km NNE of Imperial 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.