QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 11:46 pm PST (07:46 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 10:58 am PDT on 13 April 2018 (17:58 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 6km NNE of Granada Hills, CA

10 km (6 mi) S of Santa Clarita, CA · 35 km (22 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA

10:58 am PDT, Apr 13, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 5.9 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 25 kmVentura County 59 kmOrange County 98 kmKern County 115 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
10:58 am PDT on 13 April 2018 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 25 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Northridge blind thrust, 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 3030 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. In Los Angeles, 38 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Val Verde, Castaic, Burbank.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 14 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 15 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 48 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 6 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 15 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 34.3273, -118.4865. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 25 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 59 km (37 mi) W earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 98 km (61 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Kern County, CA 115 km (72 mi) N earthquakes near Kern 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 3km WSW of Willowbrook, CA
  2. 1.7 6km WNW of Castaic, CA
  3. 1.6 1km ESE of Maywood, CA
  4. 1.6 3km ESE of Fillmore, CA
  5. 1.5 11km E of Santa Clarita, CA
  6. 2.0 1km NW of Hawthorne, CA
  7. 1.6 2km NW of Marina del Rey, CA
  8. 1.8 3km SE of Vincent, CA
  9. 1.9 3km NE of Vincent, CA
  10. 1.8 2km NW of Lennox, CA
  11. 1.8 2km NW of Lennox, CA
  12. 1.8 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
  13. 1.5 1km NE of Lennox, CA
  14. 1.9 2km ENE of Studio City, CA
  15. 1.5 6km SW of Marina del Rey, 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.