Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6mw
Earthquake near Escondido, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Escondido in the 24 hours to 4:17 am PST (12:17 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 51 km (32 mi) NE, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Escondido
This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Escondido, CA, at 7:17 am PST on 6 December 2020 (15:17 UTC), 9.2 km deep. 1,842 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km SSW of Warner Springs, CA
64 km (40 mi) NE of San Diego, CA · 39 km (24 mi) ENE of Escondido, CA
- When
- 7:17 am PST on 6 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 41 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Escondido, CA · earthquakes near Escondido
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (mw)
- Depth
- 9.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1,842 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 26 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, under 1 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 1446 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Escondido, 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 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 70 km (43 mi) from the epicentre. In Escondido, 41 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: Julian 19 km, intensity III · Borrego Springs 27 km, intensity III · San Diego Country Estates 28 km, intensity III · Ramona 29 km, intensity III · Aguanga 29 km, intensity III · Anza 35 km, intensity II · Escondido 41 km, intensity II · Alpine 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 4.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 42,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 4.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 8.5× more
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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 230 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 43 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · 29 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 27 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.2 10km ESE of Anza, CA · 34 km NNE 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 33.2370, -116.6693. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 83 km (51 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 7km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 13km WNW of Anza, CA
- 2.0 13km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.4 14km WNW of Anza, CA
- 2.4 7km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.1 20km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.0 20km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.2 14km E of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 22km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 6km ENE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 6km W of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.9 9km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.3 6km N of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.8 9km NE of Aguanga, 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.