Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near Carson, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Carson in the 24 hours to 11:41 pm PST (07:41 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carson
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of Carson, CA, at 3:53 am PDT on 12 April 2018 (10:53 UTC), 15 km deep. 57 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km N of Carson, CA
21 km (13 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · in Carson, CA
- When
- 3:53 am PDT on 12 April 2018 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north of Carson, CA · earthquakes near Carson
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 57 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 38 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 9 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 3030 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carson, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Carson, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Carson, 3 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.
Likely felt in: Carson 3 km, intensity II · Gardena 4 km, intensity II · Torrance 6 km, intensity II · Lawndale 7 km, intensity II · Willowbrook 7 km, intensity II · Compton 7 km, intensity II · Hawthorne 9 km, intensity II · Westmont 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 37 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 30 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 49 km ENE 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 33.8597, -118.2882. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 38 km (23 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
36 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 1km ENE of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 12km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.5 2km NE of Villa Park, CA
- 1.7 1km ENE of Yorba Linda, CA
- 2.3 3km SSE of Charter Oak, CA
- 1.6 1km SSE of Placentia, CA
- 2.6 3km SSW of Signal Hill, CA
- 1.9 2km WSW of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.5 4km SE of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.6 0km ENE of Universal City, CA
- 1.6 22km N of Avalon, CA
- 1.6 12km SW of Marina del Rey, CA
- 2.9 2km S of Buena Park, CA
- 2.0 4km SSW of Baldwin Hills, CA
- 1.8 4km WSW of Irvine, 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.