Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Lancaster, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lancaster in the 24 hours to 8:20 am PST (16:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 67 km (41 mi) WSW, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lancaster
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) north-northwest of Lancaster, CA, at 1:05 pm PST on 8 February 2017 (21:05 UTC), less than 1 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 8km N of Lancaster, CA
7 km (5 mi) N of Lancaster, CA · 85 km (53 mi) NNE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 1:05 pm PST on 8 February 2017 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) north-northwest of Lancaster, CA · earthquakes near Lancaster
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 63 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3564 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lancaster, CA
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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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Lancaster, 7 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rosamond, Quartz Hill, Desert View Highlands, Leona Valley, Palmdale, Edwards Air Force Base.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 5km SW of Tehachapi, CA · 47 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 34.7592, -118.1702. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | S | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kern County, CA | 83 km (51 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
22 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 12km WNW of Mojave, CA
- 2.2 12km WNW of Mojave, CA
- 1.7 7km E of Mojave, CA
- 1.9 9km WNW of Lake Hughes, CA
- 1.5 9km WNW of Lake Hughes, CA
- 1.9 9km WNW of Lake Hughes, CA
- 1.9 9km WNW of Lake Hughes, CA
- 1.6 9km WNW of Lake Hughes, CA
- 1.9 14km N of Castaic, CA
- 1.6 6km ESE of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 5km NNW of Vincent, CA
- 1.9 6km NNW of Vincent, CA
- 1.5 6km S of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
- 2.1 5km NNW of Vincent, 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.