M0.8 Earthquake near Aguanga, United States — 03 September 2026
A micro earthquake of magnitude 0.8 was recorded near Aguanga, United States on , with an epicentre 4 km west-southwest of Aguanga, at a focal depth of 10.9 km. It ranked as the 5862nd strongest of 7762 earthquakes recorded in the United States in the preceding 30 days.
Time (UTC): 2026-09-03 04:52:20
Time (your timezone): —
Magnitude: 0.8 (micro)
Focal depth: 10.9 km (shallow)
Epicentre: 33.4297, -116.9050
Location: 4 km WSW of Aguanga, CA
Country: United States
USGS link to NOAA tsunami information: Not linked
Review status: Automatic
Source: USGS event page
How strong was this earthquake?
Micro earthquakes are almost never felt at the surface and are recorded only by seismographs.
A magnitude 0.8 earthquake radiates roughly 0.25 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
The USGS assigns this earthquake a significance score of 10, which is below the USGS threshold of more than 600 for its significant-earthquake list. The ranking combines magnitude with available Did You Feel It responses and PAGER alert level; it is not a direct measurement of damage.
What the magnitude scale actually measures →
When it happened locally
That is about 21:04 local solar time at the epicentre, late at night.
This event was deeper than 73% of the 153,016 earthquakes recorded in the United States in our catalogue and stronger than 26% of them.
Where was the epicentre?
The epicentre was located at 33.4297, -116.9050 — 4 km west-southwest of Aguanga. The closest other recorded event was a magnitude 0.5 earthquake 16 km east of here on 02 September 2026.
The nearest other settlements in our records are Aguanga (5 km southwest), Adelanto (134 km north-northwest), Acton (158 km northwest) and Agua Dulce (171 km northwest).
Why the 11 km depth matters
At 11 km this was a shallow earthquake. Shallow events release their energy close to the surface, so for a given magnitude they produce noticeably stronger shaking — and more damage — than deeper ones. Roughly three quarters of all earthquakes worldwide occur at shallow depths.
This catalogue does not ingest eyewitness responses, so it cannot confirm where this earthquake was felt. Based on magnitude alone, events this small are usually detected by instruments rather than people. Its shallow focus makes stronger surface shaking more likely than for a deeper event of the same magnitude.
Read more on how focal depth changes what you feel →
What does the tsunami information flag mean?
The USGS record does not carry a link to NOAA tsunami information. That field is not an all-clear and does not state whether a tsunami occurred. In this case, a damaging tsunami would be less likely because at M0.8 it falls below the magnitude 6.5 threshold that generally applies before a submarine earthquake displaces enough water to generate a damaging tsunami; it occurred inland rather than beneath the sea floor. For an active coastal alert, use tsunami.gov or your local warning authority.
How earthquakes generate tsunamis, and what the alert levels mean →
Aftershocks and local seismic history
No further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre since this event was recorded.
26 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 6.0 event near San Diego Country Estates on 14 April 2025. This M0.8 event released about 61.0 million times less energy than that event.
9936 earthquakes have been recorded within 100 km of this epicentre in the past year, 922 of them in the past 30 days.
How long aftershock sequences last, and how large they get →
Where this event sits in the record
This earthquake is part of the September 2026 worldwide record, and of earthquakes in the United States during September 2026. Browse the full monthly archive to compare periods.
Nearest recorded earthquakes to this epicentre
- M0.5 earthquake near Aguanga, United States — (16 km E)
- M1.2 earthquake near Anza, United States — (16 km ENE)
- M0.7 earthquake near Anza, United States — (18 km NNE)
- M0.4 earthquake near Anza, United States — (19 km NNE)
- M1.0 earthquake near Temecula, United States — (20 km WNW)
- M1.0 earthquake near Anza, United States — (23 km E)
- M1.7 earthquake near Warner Springs, United States — (24 km E)
- M0.7 earthquake near Anza, United States — (24 km NE)
- M0.0 earthquake near Warner Springs, United States — (25 km E)
- M0.5 earthquake near Lake Henshaw, United States — (29 km SE)
Other recent earthquakes in the United States
- M0.7 earthquake near Cobb, United States —
- M1.5 earthquake near Skwentna, United States —
- M3.0 earthquake near Little America, United States —
- M2.5 earthquake near Dyer, United States —
- M1.4 earthquake near Morgan Hill, United States —
- M3.2 earthquake near Port Orford, United States —
- M1.8 earthquake near Pāhala, United States —
- M2.2 earthquake near Snoqualmie, United States —
- M1.3 earthquake near Ackerly, United States —
- M0.4 earthquake near Borrego Springs, United States —
Other magnitude 0 earthquakes worldwide
- M0.7 earthquake near Cobb, United States —
- M0.7 earthquake near Borrego Springs, United States —
- M0.7 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
- M0.5 earthquake near La Quinta, United States —
- M0.9 earthquake near Little Lake, United States —
- M1.0 earthquake near King Salmon, United States —
- M0.7 earthquake near Karluk, United States —
- M1.0 earthquake near Anza, United States —
Questions about this earthquake
How strong was the earthquake near Aguanga?
It measured magnitude 0.8 — a micro earthquake. A magnitude 0.8 earthquake radiates roughly 0.25 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
How deep was the earthquake near Aguanga?
The focus was 11 km below the surface, which counts as shallow.
Was the Aguanga earthquake felt at the surface?
At magnitude 0.8 and a focal depth of 11 km, shaking would have been concentrated near the epicentre.
When did the earthquake near Aguanga happen?
03 September 2026 at 04:52 UTC.
Was there a tsunami?
No. The USGS record carries no tsunami-information link for this event.
Have there been aftershocks?
No further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre since this event was recorded.
How often do earthquakes happen near Aguanga?
26 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 6.0 event near San Diego Country Estates on 14 April 2025. This M0.8 event released about 61.0 million times less energy than that event.