Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Avalon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avalon in the 24 hours to 7:00 am PST (15:00 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) east of Avalon, CA, at 5:19 am PST on 16 December 2023 (13:19 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 17 km E of Avalon, CA
77 km (48 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 35 km (22 mi) SW of Newport Beach, CA
- When
- 5:19 am PST on 16 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 17 km (11 mi) east of Avalon, CA · earthquakes near Avalon
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 48 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Diego Trough 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 1061 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avalon, CA
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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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Avalon, 17 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 36 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 27× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 36 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 2km ENE of Westminster, CA · 47 km NNE 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 33.3652, -118.1433. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 143 km (89 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
31 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 4 km SSW of Westminster, CA
- 1.7 2 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
- 2.2 21 km E of Avalon, CA
- 1.7 3 km SSE of Costa Mesa, CA
- 3.4 3 km ENE of Newport Beach, CA
- 3.6 2 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
- 2.8 3 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
- 1.5 16 km S of San Pedro, CA
- 1.6 29 km SSW of San Clemente, CA
- 2.0 6 km S of Avalon, CA
- 1.6 3 km WSW of Costa Mesa, CA
- 2.6 13 km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.6 2 km SSE of Long Beach, CA
- 2.6 2 km SE of Long Beach, 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.