Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Avalon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avalon in the 24 hours to 2:01 am PST (10:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 38 km (23 mi) ESE, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Avalon
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) west-northwest of Avalon, CA, at 5:18 am PST on 7 February 2023 (13:18 UTC), 5.8 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 24km ESE of Santa Barbara Is., CA
76 km (47 mi) SSW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 5:18 am PST on 7 February 2023 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) west-northwest of Avalon, CA · earthquakes near Avalon
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Orange County, 99 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Clemente 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 1308 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avalon, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Avalon, 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Avalon, 45 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 33 km WNW 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 33.4217, -118.8062. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 22 km WSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.2 22 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 3.2 22 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.8 22 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.9 25 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 3.1 22 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.3 22 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.0 22 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 3.1 21 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.9 21 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.9 21 km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 3.1 22 km SSE of Malibu, CA
- 2.0 6 km S of Avalon, CA
- 2.6 13 km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.9 7 km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, 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.