QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 11:04 pm PST (07:04 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 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 Los Angeles

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 10:17 am PDT on 28 April 2017 (17:17 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 1 km NNW of North Hills, California

27 km (17 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA · 17 km (10 mi) WNW of Burbank, CA

10:17 am PDT, Apr 28, 2017 · · 15 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 22 kmVentura County 60 kmOrange County 92 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:17 am PDT on 28 April 2017 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 22 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Sierra Madre fault, 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 3467 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Los Angeles, 32 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: Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch, Hidden Hills, Burbank, Topanga, La Crescenta-Montrose.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 6 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 43 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 3 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 21 km NNE 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 34.2507, -118.4908. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 22 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 60 km (37 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 92 km (57 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.1 5km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
  2. 1.6 4km N of Gardena, CA
  3. 1.8 3km WSW of East Los Angeles, CA
  4. 1.9 17km S of Malibu Beach, CA
  5. 1.6 3km SE of Malibu Beach, CA
  6. 1.7 2km NE of La Canada Flintridge, CA
  7. 1.6 15km N of Fillmore, CA
  8. 1.7 14km N of Fillmore, CA
  9. 1.5 1km NNW of Florence-Graham, CA
  10. 1.6 10km SSW of Malibu, CA
  11. 1.9 3km SE of Chatsworth, CA
  12. 1.5 4km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
  13. 2.3 5km E of Vincent, CA
  14. 1.5 4km S of Highland Park, CA
  15. 1.9 5km NW of Westwood, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.