Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Carson, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Carson in the 24 hours to 3:20 am PST (11:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carson
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Carson, CA, at 9:47 pm PST on 10 January 2022 (05:47 UTC), 15 km deep. 455 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km SSE of Carson, CA
27 km (17 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · in Carson, CA
- When
- 9:47 pm PST on 10 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Carson, CA · earthquakes near Carson
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 455 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 43 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Palos Verdes fault, 4 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 1699 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carson, CA
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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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Carson, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Carson 3 km, intensity III · Torrance 7 km, intensity II · Long Beach 9 km, intensity II · Signal Hill 9 km, intensity II · Gardena 10 km, intensity II · Compton 11 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 11 km, intensity II · Lawndale 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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 4.5 on 2020-09-19 — about 370 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 32 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 33 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 49 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 32 km SE 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 33.8083, -118.2685. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 3km SW of Orange, CA
- 1.6 7km S of Newport Beach, CA
- 1.8 2km W of Lakewood, CA
- 1.6 3km SE of South Whittier, CA
- 1.9 17km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.1 4km S of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.9 4km N of Fountain Valley, CA
- 1.7 5km WNW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 2.3 17km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.6 17km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.6 0km SSE of Baldwin Hills, CA
- 1.8 1km W of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.5 4km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
- 2.0 4km N of Gardena, CA
- 1.7 4km ESE of Lennox, 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.