QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rancho Palos Verdes in the 24 hours to 3:36 pm PST (23:36 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, at 4:45 am PDT on 4 September 2020 (11:45 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 13km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

44 km (27 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · 23 km (14 mi) S of Torrance, CA

4:45 am PDT, Sep 4, 2020 · · 13 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 57 kmLos Angeles County 64 kmVentura County 106 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
4:45 am PDT on 4 September 2020 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA · earthquakes near Rancho Palos Verdes
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 57 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin 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 2260 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 Rancho Palos Verdes, 13 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: Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Lomita, West Carson, Torrance.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 36 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 36 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 21 km NNE 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 33.6285, -118.3888. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 57 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 64 km (40 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 106 km (66 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 5km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
  2. 2.4 6km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  3. 1.5 19km S of Malibu Beach, CA
  4. 2.6 17km S of San Pedro, CA
  5. 1.5 19km S of Las Flores, CA
  6. 1.6 1km E of Rolling Hills, CA
  7. 1.7 2km W of Willowbrook, CA
  8. 3.5 2km W of Willowbrook, CA
  9. 2.2 22km SSE of San Pedro, CA
  10. 1.8 1km ENE of Baldwin Hills, CA
  11. 1.7 20km SSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  12. 1.8 22km SSE of San Pedro, CA
  13. 2.5 1km NW of Bell, CA
  14. 2.4 22km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  15. 2.2 4km ESE of Los Angeles, 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.