QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Trabuco Canyon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Trabuco Canyon in the 24 hours to 5:31 am PST (13:31 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 54 km (34 mi) SW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Trabuco Canyon

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Trabuco Canyon, CA, at 1:59 pm PST on 8 December 2018 (21:59 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 11km NE of Trabuco Canyon, CA

15 km (9 mi) WNW of Lake Elsinore, CA · 91 km (57 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

1:59 pm PST, Dec 8, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Trabuco Canyon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 27 kmLos Angeles County 88 kmSan Diego County 102 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
1:59 pm PST on 8 December 2018 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) northeast of Trabuco Canyon, CA · earthquakes near Trabuco Canyon
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 27 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, 3 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 2894 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Trabuco Canyon, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: El Cerrito Corona, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto De Caza, Lake Elsinore, Lakeland Village, Home Gardens.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 48 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 9 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 36 km NW 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 33.7247, -117.4897. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 27 km (17 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 88 km (55 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 102 km (64 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 5km S of Redlands, CA
  2. 2.2 9km SW of Corona, CA
  3. 1.7 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  4. 1.7 6km NNW of Moreno Valley, CA
  5. 1.6 3km SW of Orange, CA
  6. 1.6 5km ENE of North Tustin, CA
  7. 2.4 2km E of Loma Linda, CA
  8. 1.7 5km N of Glen Avon, CA
  9. 2.7 6km NNW of Moreno Valley, CA
  10. 2.4 1km NE of Loma Linda, CA
  11. 2.6 6km N of Moreno Valley, CA
  12. 1.8 2km SSW of Loma Linda, CA
  13. 1.8 3km W of Murrieta, CA
  14. 1.5 3km SW of San Bernardino, CA
  15. 2.2 5km N of Glen Avon, 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.