Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Manhattan Beach, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Manhattan Beach in the 24 hours to 4:03 am PST (12:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 24 km (15 mi) ESE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Manhattan Beach
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west of Manhattan Beach, CA, at 2:07 pm PST on 3 March 2020 (22:07 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 91 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
21 km (13 mi) SW of Los Angeles, CA · 13 km (8 mi) W of Redondo Beach, CA
- When
- 2:07 pm PST on 3 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) west of Manhattan Beach, CA · earthquakes near Manhattan Beach
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 91 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 45 km NE
- 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 1875 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Manhattan Beach, CA
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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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Manhattan Beach, 12 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: Manhattan Beach 12 km, intensity II · Redondo Beach 14 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 15 km, intensity II · Lawndale 17 km, intensity II · Santa Monica 18 km, intensity II · Hawthorne 18 km, intensity II · Torrance 19 km, intensity II · Rancho Palos Verdes 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 360 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 42,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 30,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 360 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 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 39 km N of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 46 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 15 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 49 km WNW 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 33.8660, -118.5382. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 73 km (46 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 1km WSW of Sylmar, CA
- 2.4 1km WSW of Sylmar, CA
- 2.5 1km WSW of Sylmar, CA
- 4.2 1km SE of Sylmar, CA
- 1.8 14km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.6 10km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 2.2 4km NNW of Santa Monica, CA
- 1.5 3km SW of San Fernando, CA
- 2.0 2km SW of San Fernando, CA
- 1.7 1km NNE of Hollywood, CA
- 1.7 15km SSW of Thousand Oaks, CA
- 1.8 6km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.8 18km S of Camarillo, CA
- 1.6 14km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.5 1km NNW of San Fernando, 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.