Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Oceanside, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oceanside in the 24 hours to 9:20 am PST (17:20 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 Oceanside
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) southwest of Oceanside, CA, at 7:55 pm PST on 7 December 2018 (03:55 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 39km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
43 km (26 mi) W of Encinitas, CA · 133 km (83 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 7:55 pm PST on 7 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) southwest of Oceanside, CA · earthquakes near Oceanside
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Orange County, 78 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Diego Trough 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 1557 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oceanside, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Oceanside, 39 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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:
- 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 15 km W 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 32.9770, -117.7122. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | N | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 87 km (54 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
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 8km W of Encinitas, CA
- 2.6 38km WSW of Encinitas, CA
- 1.8 31km W of La Jolla, CA
- 2.3 26km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.8 32km WSW of Encinitas, CA
- 1.6 31km W of La Jolla, CA
- 1.8 39km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 2.5 2km SSW of Encinitas, CA
- 1.8 48km SSW of San Clemente, CA
- 1.7 17km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 2.7 16km W of Camp Pendleton South, CA
- 1.8 16km SW of La Jolla, CA
- 2.3 32km W of La Jolla, CA
- 2.7 45km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 2.6 44km 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
- 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.