QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Laguna Niguel, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Laguna Niguel in the 24 hours to 1:34 am PST (09:34 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 35 km (22 mi) SW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Laguna Niguel

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Laguna Niguel, CA, at 10:56 pm PST on 27 December 2016 (06:56 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 1km SSW of Laguna Niguel, CA

in Laguna Niguel, CA · 86 km (53 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA

10:56 pm PST, Dec 27, 2016 · · 12 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Laguna Niguel Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 19 kmLos Angeles County 91 kmSan Diego County 103 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
10:56 pm PST on 27 December 2016 ()
Where
in Laguna Niguel, CA · earthquakes near Laguna Niguel
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 19 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 6 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

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. 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: San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach, Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 36 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 49 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 28 km NE 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 33.5117, -117.7157. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 91 km (57 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 103 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Diego 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. 1.5 7km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  2. 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  3. 1.7 6km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA
  4. 1.6 7km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  5. 2.0 5km NNW of Yorba Linda, CA
  6. 1.5 2km SSW of Huntington Beach, CA
  7. 1.9 13km SW of Dana Point, CA
  8. 2.1 2km S of Placentia, CA
  9. 1.7 2km ESE of Villa Park, CA
  10. 1.7 2km E of Brea, CA
  11. 1.9 1km ESE of Dana Point, CA
  12. 1.8 1km E of Dana Point, CA
  13. 2.5 1km SSW of Dana Point, CA
  14. 2.0 10km W of Corona, CA
  15. 1.8 4km SE of Home Gardens, 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.