QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Escondido, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Escondido in the 24 hours to 5:46 am PST (13:46 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 51 km (32 mi) NE, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Escondido

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 quarry blast was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Escondido, CA, at 11:59 am PDT on 30 June 2023 (18:59 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 9km SSW of Escondido, CA

26 km (16 mi) N of San Diego, CA · 10 km (6 mi) SSW of Escondido, CA

11:59 am PDT, Jun 30, 2023 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 31 kmOrange County 94 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
11:59 am PDT on 30 June 2023 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south of Escondido, CA · earthquakes near Escondido
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 31 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 20 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 1231 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Escondido, 8 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.

Likely felt in: Escondido 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 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 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 4.2 on 2023-04-01 — about 9,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 16 km NW of Julian, California · 41 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 33.0445, -117.1035. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 31 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 94 km (58 mi) NW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 128 km (79 mi) NE earthquakes near Riverside 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.

  1. 1.6 4 km NNW of Lake Henshaw, CA
  2. 1.5 5 km NNW of Lakeside, CA
  3. 1.5 4 km NNW of Lake Henshaw, CA
  4. 2.0 4 km SW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  5. 1.6 16 km SW of La Jolla, CA
  6. 2.0 6 km NE of Pala, CA
  7. 2.2 4 km SW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  8. 2.0 10 km E of Pala, CA
  9. 1.7 4 km NNW of Lake Henshaw, CA
  10. 2.4 6 km NE of Pala, CA
  11. 1.6 4 km NW of Julian, CA
  12. 1.9 4 km NW of Lake Henshaw, CA
  13. 1.5 5 km SE of Bonita, CA
  14. 1.6 6 km NW of Lakeside, CA
  15. 2.3 8 km N of Lake Henshaw, 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.