Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Quartz Hill, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Quartz Hill in the 24 hours to 5:46 am PST (13:46 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 57 km (36 mi) WSW, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Quartz Hill
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south of Quartz Hill, CA, at 12:32 pm PDT on 8 September 2018 (19:32 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 9km S of Quartz Hill, CA
10 km (6 mi) WSW of Palmdale, CA · 63 km (39 mi) NNE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 12:32 pm PDT on 8 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) south of Quartz Hill, CA · earthquakes near Quartz Hill
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 41 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 2 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 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Quartz Hill, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Quartz Hill, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Quartz Hill, 9 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: Desert View Highlands, Palmdale, Leona Valley, Acton, Vincent, Agua Dulce.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 49 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 22 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 22 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 22 km SW 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 34.5623, -118.2082. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 41 km (25 mi) | S | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kern County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Orange County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | SSE | 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.
- 2.9 7km SSW of Littlerock, CA
- 2.2 8km SW of Lake Hughes, CA
- 1.5 14km N of Castaic, CA
- 2.8 2km ESE of Pacoima, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Northridge, CA
- 2.1 4km NNE of Granada Hills, CA
- 2.8 14km N of Castaic, CA
- 1.9 13km N of Castaic, CA
- 1.9 3km ENE of Granada Hills, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Mojave, CA
- 1.8 1km NE of Granada Hills, CA
- 2.8 3km ESE of Northridge, CA
- 1.9 10km S of Agua Dulce, CA
- 2.3 6km SSW of Pearblossum, CA
- 1.8 3km ESE of Northridge, 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.