Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Carson, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Carson in the 24 hours to 5:00 am PST (13:00 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of Carson, CA, at 2:55 am PST on 5 December 2022 (10:55 UTC), 18 km deep.
USGS: 3km N of Carson, CA
21 km (13 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA · in Carson, CA
- When
- 2:55 am PST on 5 December 2022 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north of Carson, CA · earthquakes near Carson
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 37 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 9 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 1437 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carson, CA
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This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: West Rancho Dominguez, Gardena, West Carson, Alondra Park, Torrance, Willowbrook.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 11,000 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 · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 36 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 29 km NE 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 · 26 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 33.8618, -118.2783. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 1km NW of Hermosa Beach, CA
- 1.7 1km NNE of Carson, CA
- 1.8 4km NNW of San Joaquin Hills, CA
- 1.7 5km ESE of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.7 9km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.9 4km E of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of Florence-Graham, CA
- 2.5 17km WSW of El Segundo, CA
- 1.5 2km ENE of Carson, CA
- 1.8 0km NE of Lennox, CA
- 1.8 3km SE of Highland Park, CA
- 2.4 16km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.8 1km WNW of Gardena, CA
- 1.6 3km SSW of San Dimas, CA
- 1.5 2km S of Compton, 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.