Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Carson, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Carson in the 24 hours to 6:08 am PST (14:08 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Carson, CA, at 4:12 am PDT on 2 October 2021 (11:12 UTC), 9.4 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km E of Carson, CA
25 km (16 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · in Carson, CA
- When
- 4:12 am PDT on 2 October 2021 ()
- Where
- in Carson, CA · earthquakes near Carson
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 41 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Palos Verdes fault, 7 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 1866 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 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. 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 in town, intensity II · Torrance 7 km, intensity II · Gardena 8 km, intensity II · Compton 8 km, intensity II · Signal Hill 9 km, intensity II · Willowbrook 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 33 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 29 km NW 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 33.8317, -118.2617. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 41 km (25 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 99 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
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 2km WSW of Silver Lake, CA
- 1.5 0km SSW of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 1.6 2km NW of Marina del Rey, CA
- 2.1 1km WSW of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 3.3 1km SE of South Gate, CA
- 1.6 3km ENE of La Mirada, CA
- 1.5 1km E of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 1km ENE of Carson, CA
- 2.0 22km SW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 2.3 3km ESE of Carson, CA
- 1.5 2km ESE of Carson, CA
- 2.2 11km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.9 3km ESE of Carson, CA
- 2.5 3km SE of Carson, 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.