Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Fallbrook, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Fallbrook in the 24 hours to 7:49 am PST (15:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 56 km (35 mi) E, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fallbrook
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) northwest of Fallbrook, CA, at 2:04 pm PDT on 15 September 2018 (21:04 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 14km NW of Fallbrook, CA
20 km (13 mi) SW of Murrieta, CA · 116 km (72 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 2:04 pm PDT on 15 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 14 km (8 mi) northwest of Fallbrook, CA · earthquakes near Fallbrook
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 46 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 16 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 Fallbrook, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Fallbrook, CA. No account or email needed.
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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fallbrook, 14 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: Camp Pendleton North, Murrieta, Wildomar, Temecula, Lakeland Village, Rainbow.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 49 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 27 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 48 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 30 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 27 km N 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 33.4570, -117.3602. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
31 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 9km SW of Lakeland Village, CA
- 1.5 7km WSW of Pala, CA
- 1.6 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 2.2 9km SW of Corona, CA
- 1.7 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.8 21km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 1.8 3km W of Murrieta, CA
- 1.6 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.7 3km SW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.7 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.8 6km N of Lake Elsinore, CA
- 1.6 3km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.7 4km W of Lake Elsinore, CA
- 2.5 7km NW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.5 5km SSE of Home Gardens, 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.