Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mw
Earthquake near Escondido, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Escondido in the 24 hours to 4:50 am PST (12:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 51 km (32 mi) NE, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Escondido
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) north-northeast of Escondido, CA, at 9:46 am PST on 30 January 2022 (17:46 UTC), 13 km deep. 5,794 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km WSW of Palomar Observatory, CA
61 km (38 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 27 km (17 mi) SE of Temecula, CA
- When
- 9:46 am PST on 30 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) north-northeast of Escondido, CA · earthquakes near Escondido
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mw)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5,794 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 37 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 2 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 1354 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Escondido, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Escondido, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 96 km (60 mi) from the epicentre. In Escondido, 29 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: Aguanga 13 km, intensity III · Temecula 28 km, intensity III · Escondido 29 km, intensity III · Ramona 33 km, intensity III · Anza 33 km, intensity III · Murrieta 37 km, intensity III · San Diego Country Estates 39 km, intensity III · Julian 41 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 11,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 32× more
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 61 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 · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 41 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 10km ESE of Anza, CA · 39 km NE 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 33.3355, -116.9147. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 95 km (59 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Riverside 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.
- 1.8 3km NNW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 2.0 10km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.9 16km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 14km N of Warner Springs, CA
- 1.7 4km WNW of Camp Pendleton South, CA
- 2.4 14km NE of Julian, CA
- 1.6 14km N of Warner Springs, CA
- 2.0 3km NNW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.9 13km WNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 17km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 22km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
- 1.7 13km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 13km WNW of Anza, CA
- 2.4 13km SE 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.