Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Littlerock, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Littlerock in the 24 hours to 3:00 am PST (11:00 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Littlerock, CA, at 8:15 am PDT on 22 March 2019 (15:15 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 71 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7km SSW of Littlerock, CA
62 km (38 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA · 17 km (10 mi) SSE of Palmdale, CA
- When
- 8:15 am PDT on 22 March 2019 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Littlerock, CA · earthquakes near Littlerock
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 71 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 38 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 2790 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Littlerock, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Littlerock, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Littlerock, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-08-29 — about 170 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 45 km S of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 34 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 34.4645, -118.0067. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kern County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
7 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 1km N of Caltech, Pasadena, CA
- 1.6 2km NNW of Valinda, CA
- 1.9 2km SSW of La Canada Flintridge, CA
- 1.9 4km WSW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 2.0 10km S of Agua Dulce, CA
- 1.7 4km SE of San Fernando, CA
- 1.5 6km N of Pacoima, 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.