QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Littlerock, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Littlerock in the 24 hours to 11:00 pm PST (07:00 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 73 km (45 mi) W, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Littlerock

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Littlerock, CA, at 9:55 am PDT on 3 April 2018 (16:55 UTC), 9.1 km deep.

USGS: 7km SSW of Littlerock, CA

61 km (38 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA · 17 km (11 mi) SSE of Palmdale, CA

9:55 am PDT, Apr 3, 2018 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 37 kmOrange County 90 kmVentura County 103 kmKern County 118 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
9:55 am PDT on 3 April 2018 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Littlerock, CA · earthquakes near Littlerock
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 37 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 4 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 3030 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Littlerock, 7 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: Vincent, Sun Village, Palmdale, Acton, Desert View Highlands, Lake Los Angeles.

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 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 33 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 45 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 33 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 33 km W 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 34.4590, -118.0138. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 90 km (56 mi) SSE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 103 km (64 mi) W earthquakes near Ventura County
Kern County, CA 118 km (74 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 9km WSW of Wrightwood, CA
  2. 1.5 11km E of Santa Clarita, CA
  3. 1.9 4km N of La Verne, CA
  4. 1.8 3km SE of Vincent, CA
  5. 1.9 3km NE of Vincent, CA
  6. 1.9 2km ENE of Studio City, CA
  7. 1.7 9km S of Quartz Hill, CA
  8. 2.4 3km NNW of La Verne, CA
  9. 2.1 4km N of La Verne, CA
  10. 1.9 6km S of Littlerock, CA
  11. 1.8 4km N of La Verne, CA
  12. 1.5 3km NNW of La Verne, CA
  13. 1.5 3km NNW of La Verne, CA
  14. 1.6 6km S of Littlerock, CA
  15. 2.0 4km N of La Verne, 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.