The United States Geological Survey is reporting that a large earthquake has struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California and Mexico.
According to the USGS , the 6.3 magnitude quake struck at approximately 2:36 am Friday about 163 miles southwest of the nearest city, Avalon, on California’s Santa Catalina Island.
While Southern California experiences frequent earthquakes along the San Andreas and associated faults, the spot where Friday’s quake struck has not seen any temblors greater than magnitude 6.0 in the past 40 years, the USGS added.
Officials said there were no reports of injuries or damage from the temblor, which occurred at the relatively shallow depth of 6.3 miles.
The quake did not trigger a tsunami danger.
Following the earthquake, NBC 7 San Diego’s Facebook followers reported feeling “slight shaking” in La Mesa, Poway, Ocean Beach, and as far away as San Ysidro. However, authorities in Los Angeles and San Diego counties say the quake wasn’t widely felt, and nobody reported any damage or injuries.
Per the USGS’ website, Friday’s 6.3 quake was the largest of the year to date, exceeding a 5.6 magnitude temblor earthquake which struck the north of California in January.
The quake, which originated from within the crust of the Pacific plate, represents a rare intraplate earthquake as opposed to more common interplate events that occur at plate boundaries.
ABC News has more on Friday morning’s earthquake off the coast of California in the video below:
