Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Avalon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avalon in the 24 hours to 7:21 am PST (15:21 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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Avalon, CA, at 5:48 am PDT on 6 July 2026 (12:48 UTC), 8.8 km deep. 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km NNE of Avalon, CA
64 km (40 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 37 km (23 mi) SW of Huntington Beach, CA
- When
- 5:48 am PDT on 6 July 2026 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of Avalon, CA · earthquakes near Avalon
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 16 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 52 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 54 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avalon, CA
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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 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Avalon, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Avalon 13 km, intensity III · Rancho Palos Verdes 34 km, intensity II · Huntington Beach 35 km, intensity II · Seal Beach 36 km, intensity II · Long Beach 36 km, intensity II · Newport Beach 37 km, intensity II · Costa Mesa 39 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 40 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,400× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× more
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 39 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 32 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 32 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 2km ENE of Westminster, CA · 44 km NE of this epicentre
- 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 33.4515, -118.2750. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 52 km (33 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 83 km (51 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
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 3 km WNW of Signal Hill, CA
- 1.8 2 km ENE of Gardena, CA
- 1.4 7 km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.8 14 km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 1.2 2 km N of Stanton, CA
- 1.5 5 km NW of Newport Beach, CA
- 1.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 1.7 8 km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.3 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 3.2 2 km SW of Signal Hill, CA
- 2.1 32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 1.5 9 km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 2.1 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 2.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 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
- 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.