QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Camp Pendleton South, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Camp Pendleton South in the 24 hours to 8:44 am PST (16:44 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 52 km (32 mi) W, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Camp Pendleton South

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west-northwest of Camp Pendleton South, CA, at 3:45 am PDT on 2 August 2026 (10:45 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 8 km WNW of Camp Pendleton South, CA

14 km (9 mi) WNW of Oceanside, CA · 123 km (76 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA

3:45 am PDT, Aug 2, 2026 · · 16 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 55 kmSan Diego County 68 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
3:45 am PDT on 2 August 2026 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) west-northwest of Camp Pendleton South, CA · earthquakes near Camp Pendleton South
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 55 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 4 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 102 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Camp Pendleton South, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Oceanside, Carlsbad, Camp Pendleton North, Vista, Bonsall, Fallbrook.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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:

  1. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 50 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 50 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 50 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 Near Lake Elsinore, California · 50 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 33.2552, -117.4557. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 55 km (34 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 68 km (42 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 129 km (80 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.7 0 km S of Lakeland Village, CA
  2. 1.7 21 km WNW of La Jolla, CA
  3. 0.9 6 km WSW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  4. 1.3 7 km WSW of Pala, CA
  5. 0.7 4 km N of Murrieta, CA
  6. 1.3 15 km NW of Camp Pendleton North, CA
  7. 0.9 6 km WSW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  8. 0.9 10 km E of Murrieta Hot Springs, CA
  9. 0.2 12 km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA
  10. 1.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  11. 1.4 23 km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  12. 0.4 3 km ESE of Wildomar, CA
  13. 1.7 8 km W of Palomar Observatory, CA
  14. 2.3 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  15. 2.1 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.