QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Trabuco Canyon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Trabuco Canyon in the 24 hours to 9:23 am PST (17:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 54 km (34 mi) SW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Trabuco Canyon

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) northeast of Trabuco Canyon, CA, at 4:56 pm PDT on 17 July 2024 (23:56 UTC), 11 km deep. 31 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 12 km NE of Trabuco Canyon, CA

15 km (9 mi) WNW of Lake Elsinore, CA · 91 km (57 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

4:56 pm PDT, Jul 17, 2024 · · 11 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Trabuco Canyon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 28 kmLos Angeles County 88 kmSan Diego County 103 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
4:56 pm PDT on 17 July 2024 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) northeast of Trabuco Canyon, CA · earthquakes near Trabuco Canyon
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
31 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Orange County, 28 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore 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 775 days ago

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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Trabuco Canyon, 12 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: Rancho Santa Margarita 15 km, intensity II · Lake Elsinore 16 km, intensity II · Corona 18 km, intensity II · Lake Forest 21 km, intensity II · Mission Viejo 23 km, intensity II · Norco 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 2024-01-25 — about 160 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 48 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 9 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 50 km NNW 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 33.7320, -117.4873. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 28 km (17 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 88 km (55 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 103 km (64 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
  2. 1.8 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
  3. 2.1 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
  4. 2.2 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
  5. 3.5 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
  6. 2.0 2 km E of Loma Linda, CA
  7. 1.6 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  8. 1.8 4 km SSW of Redlands, CA
  9. 2.2 8 km E of Moreno Valley, CA
  10. 2.0 3 km ESE of Fountain Valley, CA
  11. 1.7 8 km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  12. 2.5 2 km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  13. 1.6 9 km SW of Corona, CA
  14. 1.9 5 km NNE of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
  15. 2.5 4 km SE of Loma Linda, 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.