Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Rowland Heights, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Rowland Heights in the 24 hours to 11:46 pm PST (07:46 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 33 km (21 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rowland Heights
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Rowland Heights, CA, at 5:35 pm PST on 6 November 2016 (01:35 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km ESE of Rowland Heights, CA
7 km (4 mi) SW of Diamond Bar, CA · 49 km (31 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 5:35 pm PST on 6 November 2016 ()
- Where
- 2 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Rowland Heights, CA · earthquakes near Rowland Heights
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 34 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Puente Hills blind thrust system, 7 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 3563 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Rowland Heights, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Rowland Heights, 2 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.
Likely felt in: Rowland Heights 2 km, intensity II · Brea 6 km, intensity II · Walnut 6 km, intensity II · La Habra 7 km, intensity II · Hacienda Heights 9 km, intensity II · La Puente 9 km, intensity II · Diamond Bar 10 km, intensity II · Placentia 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 39 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 26 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 11 km E 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 33.9652, -117.8822. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 123 km (77 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| San Diego County, CA | 147 km (91 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2km SE of Hawthorne, CA
- 1.6 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.8 8km N of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- 1.9 2km NW of Willowbrook, CA
- 1.9 1km SE of Fontana, CA
- 1.6 3km WSW of Compton, CA
- 1.6 1km ESE of Hawthorne, CA
- 1.9 1km SSE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 1.6 7km WSW of Wrightwood, CA
- 1.5 14km N of La Verne, CA
- 2.7 1km E of Brea, CA
- 1.9 1km ENE of Brea, CA
- 1.5 7km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.5 11km SW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.8 4km SE of Home Gardens, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.