Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Rancho Palos Verdes in the 24 hours to 6:53 am PST (14:53 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 19 km (12 mi) ENE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, at 5:13 am PDT on 6 August 2018 (12:13 UTC), 1.2 km deep.
USGS: 28km E of Santa Barbara Is., CA
72 km (45 mi) SSW of Los Angeles, CA · 56 km (35 mi) SW of Redondo Beach, CA
- When
- 5:13 am PDT on 6 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA · earthquakes near Rancho Palos Verdes
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 94 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Catalina fault, under 1 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 3020 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes, 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Rancho Palos Verdes, 48 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 35 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 440,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 310,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 28× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 35 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 36 km WNW 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 33.4402, -118.7568. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 13km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
- 2.2 11km SSE of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.4 10km SSE of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.0 30km S of Malibu, CA
- 2.4 18km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA
- 1.8 15km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.1 15km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.7 16km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.8 20km S of Malibu, CA
- 3.2 21km S of San Pedro, CA
- 1.5 20 km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.5 17km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA
- 1.7 11km W of Palos Verdes Estates, CA
- 1.9 21km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.8 21km SSW of San Pedro, 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.