Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Villa Park, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Villa Park in the 24 hours to 6:00 am PST (14:00 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) NE, at 9:16 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Villa Park
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Villa Park, CA, at 1:21 am PDT on 16 September 2020 (08:21 UTC), 2.4 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7km ENE of Villa Park, CA
in Anaheim, CA
- When
- 1:21 am PDT on 16 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Villa Park, CA · earthquakes near Villa Park
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 18 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 6 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 2092 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Villa Park, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Villa Park, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Villa Park, 7 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.
Likely felt in: North Tustin 9 km, intensity II · Yorba Linda 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- 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 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 33 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 35 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 40 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 35 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 13 km N 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 33.8307, -117.7390. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 18 km (11 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Diego County, CA | 127 km (79 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
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 4km NW of San Clemente, CA
- 1.8 6km NW of Corona, CA
- 1.6 3km N of Montebello, CA
- 1.6 4km SSW of Devore, CA
- 1.5 2km E of La Habra, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Compton, CA
- 1.5 2km NNW of Fontana, CA
- 2.0 4km NNE of Walnut, CA
- 1.7 7km N of Fontana, CA
- 1.6 15km NW of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- 2.6 6km NW of Corona, CA
- 1.6 6km NW of Corona, CA
- 1.9 6km NW of Corona, CA
- 1.6 8km SW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.9 4km SSW of San Dimas, 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.