Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 11:40 pm PST (07:40 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 10:51 am PST on 20 December 2018 (18:51 UTC), 19 km deep.
USGS: 2km E of Canoga Park, CA
25 km (16 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA · 17 km (11 mi) ESE of Simi Valley, CA
- When
- 10:51 am PST on 20 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 19 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 30 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Simi-Santa Rosa fault, 12 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 2883 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Angeles, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Los Angeles, 35 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: Hidden Hills, Topanga, Agoura, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Simi Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 5 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 31 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 12 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 31 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 34.1970, -118.5847. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 30 km (18 mi) | E | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 54 km (33 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 0km NNW of Century City, CA
- 1.6 0km WNW of Century City, CA
- 2.9 0km SSW of Century City, CA
- 1.5 2km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
- 1.5 10km N of Piru, CA
- 2.0 10km S of Agua Dulce, CA
- 1.7 8km NNE of Malibu, CA
- 1.5 10km N of Piru, CA
- 2.0 3km ESE of Northridge, CA
- 2.7 3km ESE of Northridge, CA
- 2.1 6km SW of Valencia, CA
- 1.7 4km SE of San Fernando, CA
- 1.6 10km N of Piru, CA
- 1.8 14km N of Fillmore, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Bell Gardens, 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.