QuakeIndex

chemical explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Camp Pendleton South, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Camp Pendleton South in the 24 hours to 3:36 am PST (11:36 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 52 km (32 mi) W, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Camp Pendleton South

No: USGS classifies this as a chemical explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.0 chemical explosion was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northwest of Camp Pendleton South, CA, at 9:42 pm PDT on 3 August 2018 (04:42 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 12km NW of Camp Pendleton South, CA

17 km (11 mi) NW of Oceanside, CA · 118 km (73 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA

9:42 pm PDT, Aug 3, 2018 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Camp Pendleton South Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 50 kmSan Diego County 71 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
9:42 pm PDT on 3 August 2018 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) northwest of Camp Pendleton South, CA · earthquakes near Camp Pendleton South
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 50 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 8 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 3020 days ago

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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Camp Pendleton South, 12 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: Oceanside 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as chemical explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 43 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 43 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 43 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 43 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 33.3157, -117.4550. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 50 km (31 mi) NW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 71 km (44 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 123 km (76 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

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

  1. 2.0 1km S of Lake Elsinore, CA
  2. 1.8 1km SSW of Lake Elsinore, CA
  3. 3.2 2km NE of Lakeland Village, CA
  4. 1.7 5km ENE of San Joaquin Hills, CA
  5. 1.5 5km NNW of Lake Elsinore, CA
  6. 2.2 4km WSW of Solana Beach, CA
  7. 1.8 11km NNE of Trabuco Canyon, CA
  8. 1.7 28km SSW of San Clemente, CA
  9. 1.8 8km S of Wildomar, CA
  10. 3.0 41km WSW of Camp Pendleton South, CA
  11. 2.1 10km ENE of Pala, CA
  12. 2.2 41km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  13. 1.6 45km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  14. 1.6 40km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  15. 1.8 39km 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.