QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Temecula, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Temecula in the 24 hours to 7:17 am PST (15:17 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 4 km (2 mi) NE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Temecula

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA, at 4:22 pm PDT on 28 April 2023 (23:22 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 5km NW of Palomar Observatory, CA

67 km (42 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 24 km (15 mi) ESE of Temecula, CA

4:22 pm PDT, Apr 28, 2023 · · 13 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 42 kmOrange County 87 kmRiverside County 92 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
4:22 pm PDT on 28 April 2023 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA · earthquakes near Temecula
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 42 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, under 1 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 1293 days ago

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 Temecula, 26 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Aguanga, Valley Center, Rainbow, Hidden Meadows, Anza.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 340,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 42 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 40 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 36 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 10km ESE of Anza, CA · 35 km ENE 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 33.3845, -116.9035. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 87 km (54 mi) WNW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 92 km (57 mi) ENE earthquakes near Riverside County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.2 5km SSE of Hemet, CA
  2. 1.6 6km NW of San Jacinto, CA
  3. 2.0 10km S of Idyllwild, CA
  4. 2.0 5km SW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  5. 2.0 5km W of Borrego Springs, CA
  6. 1.5 3km ESE of Valle Vista, CA
  7. 1.5 11km NNW of Anza, CA
  8. 1.9 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  9. 1.9 14km WNW of Anza, CA
  10. 1.7 10km NE of Julian, CA
  11. 1.6 6km WNW of Borrego Springs, CA
  12. 1.6 2km NE of San Jacinto, CA
  13. 1.9 10km NE of Julian, CA
  14. 1.6 23km ESE of Anza, CA
  15. 3.2 10km NE of Julian, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.