QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 4:52 am PST (12:52 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) south of Los Angeles, CA, at 8:59 pm PDT on 14 August 2019 (03:59 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 10km S of San Pedro, CA

43 km (27 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 19 km (12 mi) SW of Long Beach, CA

8:59 pm PDT, Aug 14, 2019 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Angeles Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 47 kmLos Angeles County 62 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
8:59 pm PDT on 14 August 2019 ()
Where
46 km (28 mi) south of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 47 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes fault, 5 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 2646 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 46 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: Rolling Hills, Rancho Palos Verdes, Long Beach, Lomita, Rolling Hills Estates, West Carson.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 27 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 27 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 17 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 33.6428, -118.2883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 47 km (29 mi) E earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 62 km (38 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 111 km (69 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 12km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
  2. 1.6 17km S of Malibu Beach, CA
  3. 2.2 4km ESE of Gardena, CA
  4. 2.0 26km SW of Laguna Beach, CA
  5. 1.5 1km W of Willowbrook, CA
  6. 2.0 4km NNW of Villa Park, CA
  7. 2.3 5km E of Seal Beach, CA
  8. 1.7 4km S of Huntington Beach, CA
  9. 1.6 1km SE of Compton, CA
  10. 1.9 2km NNE of Maywood, CA
  11. 2.9 3km ENE of Brea, CA
  12. 3.2 2km ENE of Brea, CA
  13. 1.8 15km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  14. 2.1 15km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  15. 2.7 16km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, 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.