Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Valley Center, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Valley Center in the 24 hours to 8:23 am PST (16:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 41 km (26 mi) ENE, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Valley Center
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Valley Center, CA, at 1:21 pm PDT on 13 May 2025 (20:21 UTC), 18 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km ESE of Valley Center, CA
13 km (8 mi) NE of Escondido, CA · 46 km (29 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 1:21 pm PDT on 13 May 2025 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Valley Center, CA · earthquakes near Valley Center
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 27 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 13 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 469 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Valley Center, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Valley Center, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Valley Center, 7 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: Hidden Meadows, Escondido, San Marcos, Ramona, Vista, Bonsall.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 5.2 on 2025-04-14 — about 140,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 16 km NW of Julian, California · 25 km E 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 33.2035, -116.9647. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 27 km (17 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 5 km WSW of Anza, CA
- 2.1 8 km WNW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 2.5 2 km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.6 6 km WSW of Anza, CA
- 2.0 8 km ENE of Julian, CA
- 2.0 4 km S of Julian, CA
- 1.9 2 km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.7 3 km WNW of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.6 6 km WSW of Anza, CA
- 2.1 2 km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.7 7 km SW of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.8 6 km SW of Anza, CA
- 1.9 6 km WSW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 1 km SSW of Anza, CA
- 2.6 2 km NW of Palomar Observatory, 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.