QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Dana Point, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Dana Point in the 24 hours to 5:55 am PST (13:55 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 31 km (19 mi) SW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dana Point

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of Dana Point, CA, at 1:06 am PDT on 23 September 2026 (08:06 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 29 km SSW of Dana Point, CA

31 km (19 mi) SW of San Clemente, CA · 104 km (64 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA

1:06 am PDT, Sep 23, 2026 · · 14 km deep · released about 130 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dana Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 50 kmSan Diego County 100 kmLos Angeles County 115 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
1:06 am PDT on 23 September 2026 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of Dana Point, CA · earthquakes near Dana Point
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 50 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes fault, 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 50 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Dana Point, 29 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: San Clemente.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 130 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 80,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 29 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 47 km NNW 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 33.2280, -117.8195. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 50 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 100 km (62 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 115 km (72 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 36 km SSW of San Clemente, CA
  2. 2.4 35 km SSW of San Clemente, CA
  3. 1.7 21 km WNW of La Jolla, CA
  4. 1.8 14 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  5. 1.5 5 km NW of Newport Beach, CA
  6. 1.3 15 km NW of Camp Pendleton North, CA
  7. 1.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  8. 1.4 23 km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  9. 2.3 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  10. 2.1 32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  11. 1.5 9 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  12. 2.1 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  13. 2.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  14. 2.8 32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  15. 3.5 31 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.