Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Carson, CA, at 3:41 am PST on 11 January 2022 (11:41 UTC), 12 km deep. 126 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km SE of Carson, CA
27 km (17 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · in Carson, CA
- When
- 3:41 am PST on 11 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Carson, CA · earthquakes near Carson
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 126 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 43 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Palos Verdes 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 1699 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carson, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Carson, CA. No account or email needed.
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 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Carson, 3 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: Carson 3 km, intensity II · Long Beach 8 km, intensity II · Signal Hill 8 km, intensity II · Torrance 9 km, intensity II · Compton 10 km, intensity II · Gardena 10 km, intensity II · Willowbrook 12 km, intensity II · Lakewood 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 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 1,100 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 · 31 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 31 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 31 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 33.8123, -118.2528. 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 | 47 km (29 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 101 km (63 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 6km S of Huntington Beach, CA
- 2.4 7km S of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.8 7km S of Huntington Beach, CA
- 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
- 1.7 8km ESE of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.6 17km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.6 0km SSE of Baldwin Hills, 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.