QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Malibu, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 3:22 am PST (11:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:53 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Malibu

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) south-southeast of Malibu, CA, at 3:58 am PDT on 11 September 2017 (10:58 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 17km SSE of Malibu, CA

32 km (20 mi) WSW of Los Angeles, CA · 25 km (15 mi) SW of Santa Monica, CA

3:58 am PDT, Sep 11, 2017 · · 13 km deep · released about 33 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Malibu Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 54 kmVentura County 66 kmOrange County 89 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
3:58 am PDT on 11 September 2017 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) south-southeast of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 54 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin fault, under 1 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 3304 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 17 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 Monica, Topanga, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Agoura Hills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 33 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 40 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 50 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 24 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 33 km WNW 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 33.8793, -118.7120. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 54 km (34 mi) NE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 66 km (41 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 89 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange 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. 1.7 6km ESE of Port Hueneme, CA
  2. 1.7 3km WSW of Culver City, CA
  3. 1.6 3km NW of Inglewood, CA
  4. 1.6 2km WNW of Inglewood, CA
  5. 1.5 3km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  6. 2.2 16km SSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  7. 2.5 3km N of Huntington Park, CA
  8. 2.0 1km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  9. 1.8 3 km NE of Malibu, California
  10. 2.3 1km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  11. 1.9 2km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  12. 1.8 2km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  13. 2.3 1km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  14. 1.9 20km SE of Port Hueneme, CA
  15. 1.6 1km SSE of Silver Lake, 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.