QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Encinitas, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Encinitas in the 24 hours to 7:36 am PST (15:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 141 km (88 mi) NE, at 5:56 pm PST on 19 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8,214 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Encinitas

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west of Encinitas, CA, at 7:56 am PDT on 30 October 2020 (14:56 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 8km W of Encinitas, CA

10 km (6 mi) WSW of Encinitas, CA · 33 km (20 mi) NW of San Diego, CA

7:56 am PDT, Oct 30, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 56 kmOrange County 81 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
7:56 am PDT on 30 October 2020 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) west of Encinitas, CA · earthquakes near Encinitas
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 56 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 2 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 2204 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Encinitas, 8 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: Solana Beach, Del Mar, Carlsbad, Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch, Oceanside.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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:

  1. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 47 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 33.0322, -117.3723. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 56 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 81 km (50 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 29km WSW of Camp Pendleton South, CA
  2. 2.1 39km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  3. 1.6 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
  4. 1.9 13km W of Carlsbad, CA
  5. 2.7 43km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  6. 1.7 14km SW of Coronado, CA
  7. 1.7 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
  8. 1.7 14km W of Coronado, CA
  9. 1.6 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
  10. 2.0 14km SW of Coronado, CA
  11. 1.6 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
  12. 1.9 30km WSW of La Jolla, CA
  13. 2.5 12km WSW of Coronado, CA
  14. 2.0 3km SSW of La Jolla, CA
  15. 1.9 25km 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.