California earthquakes

M2.5 earthquake 3km SE of Carson, CA

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 3km SE of Carson, CA on Fri, Sep 2, 1938, 4:02 AM GMT-8 (12:02 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.8 3km E of Lytle Creek, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Carson forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
2.5 (ml), micro
Local time
UTC
1938-09-02 12:02:09 UTC
Depth
6.0 km (3.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
33.813° N, 118.259° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 3.6 km horizontally, 31.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.17
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
297°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
3

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 14 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.12km SW of Placentia, CA · 32158 days ago · 6 km deep · 35 km away
  2. 2.217km WSW of Newport Beach, CA · 32157 days ago · 6 km deep · 32 km away
  3. 2.413km SSW of Laguna Beach, CA · 32156 days ago · 6 km deep · 56 km away
  4. 2.83km E of Lytle Creek, CA · 32150 days ago · 6 km deep · 89 km away
  5. 2.42km N of Norco, CA · 32148 days ago · 25 km deep · 68 km away
  6. 3.01km NE of Rolling Hills Estates, CA · 32147 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  7. 2.03km NW of Signal Hill, CA · 32146 days ago · 6 km deep · 6 km away
  8. 2.611km ESE of Avalon, CA · 32146 days ago · 6 km deep · 57 km away
  9. 2.68km ENE of Avalon, CA · 32138 days ago · 6 km deep · 49 km away
  10. 2.24km ESE of Loma Linda, CA · 32138 days ago · 6 km deep · 99 km away
  11. 2.75km NW of Yorba Linda, CA · 32133 days ago · 6 km deep · 40 km away

Before

  1. 3.14km W of Palos Verdes Estates, CA · 32164 days ago · 6 km deep · 16 km away
  2. 4.34km NNE of San Pedro, CA · 32164 days ago · 6 km deep · 5 km away
  3. 2.93km WNW of Rossmoor, CA · 32166 days ago · 6 km deep · 13 km away
  4. 2.47km W of Norco, CA · 32166 days ago · 6 km deep · 60 km away
  5. 2.27km WSW of Seal Beach, CA · 32166 days ago · 6 km deep · 14 km away
  6. 2.429km SE of Avalon, CA · 32175 days ago · 6 km deep · 75 km away
  7. 3.418km SSW of Port Hueneme, CA · 32180 days ago · 6 km deep · 93 km away
  8. 1.68km S of Las Flores, CA · 32183 days ago · 6 km deep · 38 km away
  9. 3.710km NE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 32189 days ago · 6 km deep · 70 km away
  10. 1.712km SSW of Valencia, CA · 32189 days ago · 6 km deep · 70 km away
  11. 2.724km NE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 32190 days ago · 6 km deep · 63 km away
  12. 3.14km NW of North Hollywood, CA · 32190 days ago · 6 km deep · 44 km away
  13. 2.54km WSW of Newport Beach, CA · 32190 days ago · 6 km deep · 36 km away
  14. 3.44km SW of Huntington Beach, CA · 32190 days ago · 6 km deep · 27 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci3364740. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:36 AM UTC.