Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6ml
Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 2:31 am PST (10:31 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 3.6 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) west of Los Angeles, CA, at 11:20 pm PDT on 18 September 2017 (06:20 UTC), 10 km deep. 5,861 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NW of Westwood, CA
10 km (6 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA · 9 km (5 mi) NNE of Santa Monica, CA
- When
- 11:20 pm PDT on 18 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 22 km (13 mi) west of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5,861 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 23 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Santa Monica fault, 5 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 1951 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Angeles, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 69 km (43 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 22 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Santa Monica 8 km, intensity III · Inglewood 18 km, intensity III · Burbank 19 km, intensity III · Glendale 21 km, intensity III · Los Angeles 22 km, intensity III · Hawthorne 22 km, intensity III · Westmont 23 km, intensity III · Manhattan Beach 23 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 3.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 43,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.9 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 8.2× more
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 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 15 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 37 km E of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 21 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 38 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 34.0867, -118.4757. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 23 km (14 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 1km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 2.5 4km SE of Piru, CA
- 1.6 1km SSE of Silver Lake, CA
- 2.2 0km ESE of Silver Lake, CA
- 2.4 15km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 12km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA
- 2.9 1km SE of Silver Lake, CA
- 2.4 12km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA
- 1.6 6km WSW of Valencia, CA
- 1.6 2km NNE of Granada Hills, CA
- 1.7 7km SSW of Castaic, CA
- 2.1 2km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
- 1.7 7km WSW of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 3km N of Monrovia, CA
- 1.6 4km WNW of La Mirada, 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.