QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Avalon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Avalon in the 24 hours to 4:16 am PST (12:16 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) east-southeast of Avalon, CA, at 3:56 pm PDT on 13 September 2026 (22:56 UTC), 12 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 27 km ESE of Avalon, CA

91 km (57 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 42 km (26 mi) SSW of Newport Beach, CA

3:56 pm PDT, Sep 13, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Avalon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 54 kmLos Angeles County 107 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
3:56 pm PDT on 13 September 2026 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) east-southeast of Avalon, CA · earthquakes near Avalon
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Orange County, 54 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
San Diego Trough 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 58 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Avalon, 27 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 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 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 4.1 on 2024-01-01 — about 930 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 43 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 11km NNE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 36 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 42 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 33.2493, -118.0635. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 54 km (34 mi) NNE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 107 km (66 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 122 km (76 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Diego 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. 1.8 14 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  4. 1.5 5 km NW of Newport Beach, CA
  5. 1.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  6. 2.3 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  7. 2.1 32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  8. 1.5 9 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  9. 2.1 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  10. 2.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  11. 2.8 32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  12. 3.5 31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
  13. 2.2 3 km SSE of Costa Mesa, CA
  14. 2.3 46 km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  15. 2.4 29 km SSW 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.