QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near La Mirada, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in La Mirada in the 24 hours to 4:23 am PST (12:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 21 km (13 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near La Mirada

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of La Mirada, CA, at 6:12 pm PDT on 26 September 2020 (01:12 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 3km SW of La Mirada, CA

in Norwalk, CA · 37 km (23 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

6:12 pm PDT, Sep 26, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Mirada Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 34 kmLos Angeles County 39 kmVentura County 113 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
6:12 pm PDT on 26 September 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of La Mirada, CA · earthquakes near La Mirada
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 34 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, under 1 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 2236 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 La Mirada, 3 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: Norwalk, Buena Park, Cerritos, Artesia, La Palma, East La Mirada.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 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 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 4.5 on 2020-09-19 — about 35,000 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 · 30 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 42 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 42 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 26 km ENE 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 33.8947, -118.0372. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 34 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 39 km (24 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 113 km (70 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
San Diego County, CA 152 km (94 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

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

  1. 1.6 1km E of Rolling Hills, CA
  2. 1.9 2km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  3. 2.2 14km NNE of Glendora, CA
  4. 1.7 2km W of Willowbrook, CA
  5. 3.5 2km W of Willowbrook, CA
  6. 2.2 22km SSE of San Pedro, CA
  7. 1.5 10km SW of Corona, CA
  8. 2.0 8km E of Yorba Linda, CA
  9. 2.2 4km ESE of Altadena, CA
  10. 1.8 1km ENE of Baldwin Hills, CA
  11. 1.9 4km NNW of Orange, CA
  12. 1.5 2km SW of La Habra, CA
  13. 1.6 2km SW of La Habra, CA
  14. 1.7 2km SE of Placentia, CA
  15. 2.7 2km SSE of Placentia, 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.