Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Pasadena, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pasadena in the 24 hours to 3:12 am PST (11:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 40 km (25 mi) S, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pasadena
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Pasadena, CA, at 10:25 am PST on 17 January 2017 (18:25 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 2km W of Pasadena, CA
28 km (18 mi) ENE of Los Angeles, CA · in Pasadena, CA
- When
- 10:25 am PST on 17 January 2017 ()
- Where
- in Pasadena, CA · earthquakes near Pasadena
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 11 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Raymond fault, 4 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 3564 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pasadena, CA
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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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Pasadena in town, intensity II · South Pasadena 4 km, intensity II · Altadena 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 36 km W of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 35 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 12 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 35 km NW 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 34.1545, -118.1518. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 11 km (7 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2km WSW of San Pedro, CA
- 2.1 4km NNE of Granada Hills, CA
- 2.1 2km S of Placentia, CA
- 2.3 7km WSW of Pinon Hills, CA
- 1.7 2km E of Brea, CA
- 1.5 7km WSW of Pinon Hills, CA
- 2.3 5km W of El Segundo, CA
- 2.4 3km ENE of Granada Hills, CA
- 1.9 2km SE of Carson, CA
- 1.8 2km S of Sherman Oaks, CA
- 1.5 2km NNW of Silver Lake, CA
- 1.5 5km NNW of Vincent, CA
- 1.7 1km E of Alhambra, CA
- 1.9 6km NNW of Vincent, CA
- 1.5 4km SW of Encino, 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.