Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Temecula, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Temecula in the 24 hours to 5:28 am PST (13:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 4 km (2 mi) NE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Temecula
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 28 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA, at 5:28 pm PST on 26 December 2021 (01:28 UTC), 5.2 km deep.
USGS: 3km NNW of Palomar Observatory, CA
67 km (42 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 27 km (17 mi) ESE of Temecula, CA
- When
- 5:28 pm PST on 26 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 28 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA · earthquakes near Temecula
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 40 km SSE
- 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 1772 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Temecula, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Temecula, 28 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.
Likely felt in: Aguanga 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 340,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 38 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 37 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 37 km ENE 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 33.3770, -116.8777. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Riverside 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.
- 2.2 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 2km S of Valle Vista, CA
- 3.0 2km SSW of Valle Vista, CA
- 2.0 7km SSW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Aguanga, CA
- 2.1 17km SE of Anza, CA
- 2.2 13km WNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 22km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.7 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.6 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.0 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.8 13km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.5 23km ESE of Anza, 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.