QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Avalon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Avalon in the 24 hours to 6:20 am PST (14:20 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Avalon, CA, at 11:23 am PDT on 31 July 2026 (18:23 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 13 km NNE of Avalon, CA

64 km (40 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · 37 km (23 mi) SW of Huntington Beach, CA

11:23 am PDT, Jul 31, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Avalon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 53 kmLos Angeles County 83 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
11:23 am PDT on 31 July 2026 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Avalon, CA · earthquakes near Avalon
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 53 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin 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 104 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 Avalon, 13 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 6.2 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 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 4.3 on 2021-09-18 — about 13,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 33 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 32 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 2km ENE of Westminster, CA · 44 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 2 km NE of Carson, California · 44 km N 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 33.4502, -118.2773. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 83 km (52 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 128 km (80 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 3 km WNW of Signal Hill, CA
  2. 1.8 2 km ENE of Gardena, CA
  3. 1.4 7 km SE of San Pedro, CA
  4. 1.8 14 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  5. 1.2 2 km N of Stanton, CA
  6. 1.5 5 km NW of Newport Beach, CA
  7. 1.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  8. 1.7 8 km SE of San Pedro, CA
  9. 2.3 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  10. 3.2 2 km SW of Signal Hill, CA
  11. 2.1 32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  12. 1.5 9 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  13. 2.1 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  14. 2.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  15. 2.8 32 km SW of Dana Point, 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.