Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Del Mar, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Del Mar in the 24 hours to 10:24 am PST (18:24 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 145 km (90 mi) NE, at 5:56 pm PST on 19 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8,214 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Del Mar
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Del Mar, CA, at 6:23 am PDT on 6 September 2024 (13:23 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 5 km SSW of Del Mar, CA
18 km (11 mi) NW of San Diego, CA · 15 km (9 mi) S of Encinitas, CA
- When
- 6:23 am PDT on 6 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Del Mar, CA · earthquakes near Del Mar
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 49 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon 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 797 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Del Mar, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Del Mar, CA. No account or email needed.
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 Del Mar, 5 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: Solana Beach, Fairbanks Ranch, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Poway, San Diego.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 110 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 140,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 99,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 32.9173, -117.2842. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 149 km (93 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 36 km W of La Jolla, CA
- 2.1 3 km ENE of San Ysidro, CA
- 1.7 31 km W of La Jolla, CA
- 2.3 27 km SW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.6 21 km WNW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.6 6 km NNW of Lakeside, CA
- 2.1 17 km W of Imperial Beach, CA
- 1.5 6 km N of Lakeside, CA
- 1.9 6 km NNW of San Pasqual, CA
- 1.9 12 km SW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.6 6 km N of Lakeside, CA
- 1.5 5 km ESE of Chula Vista, CA
- 1.8 7 km ESE of Valley Center, CA
- 2.2 40 km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
- 1.8 6 km SW of Carlsbad, 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.