QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Baldwin Park, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Baldwin Park in the 24 hours to 3:36 am PST (11:36 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 39 km (24 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 Baldwin Park

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Baldwin Park, CA, at 3:36 am PDT on 23 July 2020 (10:36 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1km WSW of Baldwin Park, CA

in Baldwin Park, CA · 41 km (25 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

3:36 am PDT, Jul 23, 2020 · · 13 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Baldwin Park Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 29 kmOrange County 49 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
3:36 am PDT on 23 July 2020 ()
Where
in Baldwin Park, CA · earthquakes near Baldwin Park
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 29 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Sierra Madre fault, 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 1469 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. 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: West Puente Valley, West Covina, Irwindale, Mayflower Village, Valinda, El Monte.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 15,000 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. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 10 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 21 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 26 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 24 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 49 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 34.0820, -117.9745. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 29 km (18 mi) WNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 49 km (30 mi) SSE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 111 km (69 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
San Diego County, CA 162 km (101 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

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

  1. 1.5 5km NW of Glen Avon, CA
  2. 1.6 5km NW of Glen Avon, CA
  3. 1.7 5km SSW of MacArthur Park, CA
  4. 2.0 11km NNE of Sierra Madre, CA
  5. 2.3 5km NW of Mira Loma, CA
  6. 2.6 4km SSW of Westminster, CA
  7. 1.8 5km NE of Bradbury, CA
  8. 3.0 3km NE of Fontana, CA
  9. 1.8 1km ESE of Century City, CA
  10. 1.6 1km N of San Fernando, CA
  11. 1.5 2km ESE of Home Gardens, CA
  12. 1.7 5km SE of Ontario, CA
  13. 2.5 4km SE of Lytle Creek, CA
  14. 1.7 3km NNW of Fontana, CA
  15. 1.9 1km SSE of Sylmar, 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.