Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Oceanside, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oceanside in the 24 hours to 8:24 pm PST (04:24 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Oceanside, CA, at 2:03 am PDT on 14 March 2020 (09:03 UTC), 18 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 45km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
50 km (31 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, CA · 127 km (79 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 2:03 am PDT on 14 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Oceanside, CA · earthquakes near Oceanside
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 76 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Diego Trough fault, 4 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 2357 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oceanside, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oceanside, 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 Oceanside, 45 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 290 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 51,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 36,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 290 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 11km NNE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · 48 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 8 km WSW 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 32.9942, -117.7970. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | N | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 95 km (59 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
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 36km NE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
- 2.3 45km NE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
- 1.7 4km WNW of Camp Pendleton South, CA
- 2.1 39km W of La Jolla, CA
- 1.8 16km WSW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.7 38km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 2.0 38km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.8 28km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 2.5 22km W of La Jolla, CA
- 1.5 38km W of La Jolla, CA
- 1.9 23km WSW of Dana Point, CA
- 1.7 30km WSW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.7 16km S of San Clemente, CA
- 1.7 18km WSW of La Jolla, CA
- 2.6 52km ESE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), 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.