QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Whittier, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Whittier in the 24 hours to 2:39 am PST (10:39 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 26 km (16 mi) SSW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Whittier

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) northeast of Whittier, CA, at 11:48 pm PST on 19 December 2018 (07:48 UTC), 11 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km NE of Whittier, CA

in Whittier, CA · 37 km (23 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

11:48 pm PST, Dec 19, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Whittier Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 32 kmOrange County 41 kmVentura County 111 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
11:48 pm PST on 19 December 2018 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) northeast of Whittier, CA · earthquakes near Whittier
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 32 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, 7 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 2884 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 Whittier, 2 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: Hacienda Heights, South Whittier, West Whittier-Los Nietos, Avocado Heights, La Puente, La Habra Heights.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 18,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 40 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 10 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 31 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 23 km ESE 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 33.9915, -118.0147. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 32 km (20 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 41 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 111 km (69 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
San Diego County, CA 157 km (98 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 9km SW of Corona, CA
  2. 1.7 1km NNE of Inglewood, CA
  3. 1.9 2km NNW of Inglewood, CA
  4. 2.0 7km ESE of San Pedro, CA
  5. 2.4 6km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
  6. 1.6 3km SW of Orange, CA
  7. 1.6 5km ENE of North Tustin, CA
  8. 2.3 8km SW of Lytle Creek, CA
  9. 1.7 5km N of Glen Avon, CA
  10. 2.8 2km ESE of Pacoima, CA
  11. 1.6 2km ESE of Santa Monica, CA
  12. 1.6 2km N of Norwalk, CA
  13. 2.0 3km NE of Marina del Rey, CA
  14. 2.0 3km NE of Marina del Rey, CA
  15. 1.5 2km SSW of Norwalk, 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.