Orange County, United States – Earthquakes

This page summarizes earthquakes in Orange County (United States). The most recently recorded event was a magnitude M1.5 earthquake near Huntington Beach on 2026-09-18 18:46:53 UTC. All event lists and map markers are limited to the last 30 days.

Seismic profile ↓
Earthquakes (last 30 days)
33
Max magnitude (last 30 days)
M2.3
Avg magnitude (last 30 days)
M1.44
Avg depth (last 30 days)
10 km

Seismic profile

Analysis period18 Sep 2025 – 18 Sep 2026Data as of: 18 Sep 2026 · 19:00 UTC
Minimum magnitude

What the data show

Orange County · M ≥ 2.0

After source reconciliation, the catalogue contains 35 event entries of M2.0 or above for this area and period, spread over 28 days.

Catalogue entries3518 Sep 2025 – 18 Sep 2026
Strongest recorded earthquakeM3.1Orange County ↗
Depth · median2.7 km31 events with valid depth
Last 30 days2Previous 30 days: 6

These figures describe the stored catalogue. Recording, magnitude types and geographic attribution may vary by source and period; completeness has not been established.

18 Sep 2025 – 18 Sep 2026

Earthquakes by month

M ≥ 2.0

Each bar counts events within the selected period. Hatched months are only partially included.

View data table
MonthAnalysis periodCatalogue entries
September 2025 · Partial month18 Sep 2025 – 30 Sep 20250
October 202501 Oct 2025 – 31 Oct 20250
November 202501 Nov 2025 – 30 Nov 20250
December 202501 Dec 2025 – 31 Dec 20250
January 202601 Jan 2026 – 31 Jan 20264
February 202601 Feb 2026 – 28 Feb 20268
March 202601 Mar 2026 – 31 Mar 20261
April 202601 Apr 2026 – 30 Apr 20261
May 202601 May 2026 – 31 May 20263
June 202601 Jun 2026 – 30 Jun 20266
July 202601 Jul 2026 – 31 Jul 20265
August 202601 Aug 2026 – 31 Aug 20267
September 2026 · Partial month01 Sep 2026 – 18 Sep 20260

How strong were the earthquakes?

Catalogue entries · 35

M 2.0 – < 3.034
M 3.0 – < 4.01
M 4.0 – < 5.00
M 5.0 – < 6.00
M ≥ 6.00

At what depth did they occur?

31 events with valid depth

0 – < 30 km29
30 – < 70 km2
70 – < 300 km0
300 – 750 km0

4 events without valid depth are excluded here.

Depth · median

Half of the available values lie on either side of the median; ties are possible.

Current period in context

Last 30 days2
Previous 30 days6
Median of the eleven previous 30-day periods3

Same magnitude threshold, separate periods. Differences may also reflect changes in recording. No hazard level or forecast is inferred.

Where were earthquakes recorded?

Events assigned to Orange County in the stored location data are analysed. This is not a radius search. Missing or different attributions are excluded.

The interactive map complements the event links on this page.

Marker size and colour indicate magnitude.

Strongest recorded earthquake

18 Sep 2025 – 18 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 2.0

Data and methodology

Analysis period: 18 Sep 2025 19:00 – 18 Sep 2026 19:00 UTC

Data and methodology

Reports are first reconciled using existing event associations. Additional reports from different sources are consolidated only when every pair is within 5 seconds, 10 km and 0.5 magnitude units, source groups do not overlap and exactly one group matches. Ambiguous cases remain separate. The preferred report determines magnitude, time and area; period and magnitude filters are applied afterwards. The start is included and the end excluded (UTC).

0 additional source reports were consolidated during source reconciliation.

Events assigned to Orange County in the stored location data are analysed. This is not a radius search. Missing or different attributions are excluded.

These figures describe the stored catalogue. Recording, magnitude types and geographic attribution may vary by source and period; completeness has not been established.

Source reports used

The preferred report of each group is counted. Source priority follows the earthquake list. Different magnitude types and recording gaps limit comparability.

  • SCEDC32
  • USGS3

The profile is recalculated hourly from the earthquake catalogue. Later source revisions may also change historical values.

Data as of: 18 Sep 2026 · 19:32 UTC

Map (last 30 days)

< 2 2–4 4–5 ≥ 5

About Orange County

Orange County, officially the County of Orange, often initialized: O.C., is located in the Greater Los Angeles area in Southern California, United States.

Seismic activity in 2026

In 2026, Orange County recorded 298 earthquakes within United States. The average magnitude was M1.53. The strongest event reached M3.1.

By event count in 2026, this region ranks #24 within United States.

Located on the Pacific Plate.

Earthquakes in Orange County (last 30 days)

M1.5
Huntington Beach
2026-09-18 · 18:46 UTC · 12 km
›
M1.7
Garden Grove
2026-09-18 · 17:14 UTC · 8 km
›
M1.5
La Habra
2026-09-14 · 20:27 UTC · 7 km
›
M1.4
Tustin
2026-09-14 · 17:38 UTC · 10 km
›
M1.1
Orange County
2026-09-14 · 04:57 UTC · 14 km
›
M1.3
Orange County
2026-09-12 · 15:56 UTC · 11 km
›
M0.7
Anaheim
2026-09-12 · 03:46 UTC · 11 km
›
M1.0
Orange County
2026-09-11 · 01:48 UTC · 5 km
›
M1.3
Orange County
2026-09-09 · 19:13 UTC · 5 km
›
M1.2
Cypress
2026-09-09 · 11:07 UTC · 7 km
›
M1.3
Orange County
2026-09-09 · 09:55 UTC · 8 km
›
M1.2
Orange County
2026-09-08 · 10:36 UTC · 27 km
›
M1.0
Orange County
2026-09-07 · 18:13 UTC · 4 km
›
M1.7
Orange County
2026-09-07 · 18:08 UTC · 3 km
›
M1.5
Orange
2026-09-07 · 02:42 UTC · 3 km
›
M1.8
Huntington Beach
2026-09-06 · 01:12 UTC · 1 km
›
M1.2
Mission Viejo
2026-09-05 · 18:10 UTC · 29 km
›
M1.8
La Habra
2026-09-05 · 14:15 UTC · 28 km
›
M1.5
Garden Grove
2026-09-05 · 05:22 UTC · 10 km
›
M1.4
Orange
2026-09-04 · 20:08 UTC · 10 km
›
M2.0
Rienda
2026-09-03 · 17:06 UTC · 14 km
›
M1.4
Coto De Caza
2026-09-03 · 01:54 UTC · 22 km
›
M1.5
Orange County
2026-09-02 · 20:29 UTC · 23 km
›
M1.4
Santa Ana
2026-09-01 · 02:04 UTC · 30 km
›
M1.4
Tustin
2026-08-31 · 16:38 UTC · 0 km
›
M1.9
Huntington Beach
2026-08-30 · 23:40 UTC · 12 km
›
M2.0
Orange County
2026-08-27 · 20:03 UTC · 3 km
›
M0.6
Fullerton
2026-08-23 · 20:26 UTC · 0 km
›
M2.0
Huntington Beach
2026-08-21 · 20:28 UTC · 7 km
›
M1.6
Yorba Linda
2026-08-21 · 18:37 UTC · 33 km
›
M2.3
Ladera Ranch
2026-08-21 · 16:52 UTC · 0 km
›
M1.3
Garden Grove
2026-08-21 · 05:46 UTC · 10 km
›
M1.6
Yorba Linda
2026-08-20 · 10:27 UTC · 0 km
›