Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Irvine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Irvine in the 24 hours to 10:27 am PST (18:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 36 km (22 mi) WNW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Irvine
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) south-southwest of Irvine, CA, at 3:47 am PST on 7 December 2020 (11:47 UTC), 8.6 km deep.
USGS: 32km SW of Dana Point, CA
90 km (56 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 35 km (22 mi) SSW of Newport Beach, CA
- When
- 3:47 am PST on 7 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 44 km (27 mi) south-southwest of Irvine, CA · earthquakes near Irvine
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 46 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Palos Verdes 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 2165 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Irvine, 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Irvine, 44 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 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 37 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 37 km N 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 33.2940, -117.9772. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 104 km (64 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Diego County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Ventura County, CA | 159 km (99 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 17km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.3 45km NE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA
- 2.1 21km SSW of San Pedro, CA
- 2.1 10km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.8 23km ENE of Avalon, CA
- 2.0 17km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.7 10km SW of Laguna Beach, CA
- 2.0 21km S of San Pedro, CA
- 1.7 38km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 2.0 38km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.8 28km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 1.9 23km WSW of Dana Point, CA
- 2.0 22km SW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.8 19km S of San Pedro, CA
- 2.5 19km S of San Pedro, 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.