Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Wildomar, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Wildomar in the 24 hours to 4:29 am PST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 18 km (11 mi) ESE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wildomar
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) northeast of Wildomar, CA, at 1:09 pm PDT on 17 September 2021 (20:09 UTC), 14 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NE of Wildomar, CA
8 km (5 mi) SW of Menifee, CA · 116 km (72 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 1:09 pm PDT on 17 September 2021 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) northeast of Wildomar, CA · earthquakes near Wildomar
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 50 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 3 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 1881 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wildomar, 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Wildomar, 5 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: Wildomar 5 km, intensity II · Lake Elsinore 9 km, intensity II · Murrieta 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 74 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-08-15 — about 1,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 29 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 16 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 29 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 16 km WNW 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 33.6340, -117.2407. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Riverside County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 4km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.7 8km NE of Moreno Valley, CA
- 1.5 8km SSE of Banning, CA
- 1.7 4km NNE of Moreno Valley, CA
- 1.7 4km SE of Redlands, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.7 9km ENE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.5 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.8 5km SSW of Redlands, CA
- 1.7 11km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.7 3km SSW of Calimesa, CA
- 1.6 9km NNW of Anza, CA
- 2.0 3km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.5 5km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.7 7km NW of Lakeland Village, 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.