Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near East Los Angeles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in East Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 8:16 pm PST (04:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 26 km (16 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 East Los Angeles
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of East Los Angeles, CA, at 3:52 am PST on 2 January 2017 (11:52 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km W of East Los Angeles, CA
19 km (12 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA · 6 km (4 mi) N of Huntington Park, CA
- When
- 3:52 am PST on 2 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west of East Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near East Los Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 19 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Puente Hills blind thrust system, 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
Earthquake alerts for East Los Angeles, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near East Los Angeles, CA. No account or email needed.
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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In East Los Angeles, 3 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.
Likely felt in: East Los Angeles 3 km, intensity II · Los Angeles 4 km, intensity II · Maywood 5 km, intensity II · Huntington Park 6 km, intensity II · Bell 6 km, intensity II · Florence-Graham 8 km, intensity II · South Gate 8 km, intensity II · Monterey Park 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 37 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 48 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 12 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 38 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 34.0290, -118.2055. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 19 km (12 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2km W of Fountain Valley, CA
- 2.4 3km ENE of Granada Hills, CA
- 1.9 2km SE of Carson, CA
- 1.8 2km S of Sherman Oaks, CA
- 1.5 2km NNW of Silver Lake, CA
- 1.7 1km E of Alhambra, CA
- 1.5 4km SW of Encino, CA
- 2.5 7km E of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.6 12km SSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.9 3km E of Gardena, CA
- 1.7 5km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 2.0 5 km SE of San Pedro, California
- 1.6 4 km SSE of Placentia, California
- 2.2 6 km NW of San Fernando, California
- 3.1 2 km WNW of Santa Monica, California
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.