QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Oceanside, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Oceanside in the 24 hours to 7:55 am PST (15:55 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) west-southwest of Oceanside, CA, at 6:49 pm PST on 10 November 2023 (02:49 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 44 km WSW of Carlsbad, CA

49 km (30 mi) W of Encinitas, CA · 128 km (80 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA

6:49 pm PST, Nov 10, 2023 · · 14 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 76 kmSan Diego County 94 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
6:49 pm PST on 10 November 2023 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) west-southwest of Oceanside, CA · earthquakes near Oceanside
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 76 km N
Nearest mapped fault
San Diego Trough fault, 5 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 1096 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 Oceanside, 44 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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:

  1. 5.8 11km NNE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · 50 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 9 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 32.9927, -117.7803. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 76 km (47 mi) N earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 94 km (58 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

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

  1. 2.2 40 km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  2. 1.8 6 km SW of Carlsbad, CA
  3. 2.5 47 km SSW of Dana Point, CA
  4. 2.0 41 km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  5. 1.8 30 km SSW of Dana Point, CA
  6. 1.6 17 km SW of La Jolla, CA
  7. 1.8 27 km WNW of La Jolla, CA
  8. 1.8 50 km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  9. 1.8 6 km WNW of Camp Pendleton South, CA
  10. 2.6 27 km WSW of Dana Point, CA
  11. 2.6 27 km WSW of Dana Point, CA
  12. 2.8 27 km WSW of Dana Point, CA
  13. 1.6 42 km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  14. 2.4 40 km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  15. 1.7 33 km W of La Jolla, 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.