Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.2mw
Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 5:23 am PST (13:23 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 4.2 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 4:29 am PDT on 30 July 2020 (11:29 UTC), 8.8 km deep. 16,007 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1km SE of Sylmar, CA
14 km (9 mi) SSE of Santa Clarita, CA · 31 km (20 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:29 am PDT on 30 July 2020 ()
- Where
- 33 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 4.2 (mw)
- Depth
- 8.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 16,007 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 20 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Northridge blind thrust, 3 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 945 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Angeles, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Los Angeles, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 110 km (68 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 33 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Santa Clarita 14 km, intensity IV · Burbank 18 km, intensity III · Valencia 22 km, intensity III · Glendale 24 km, intensity III · Altadena 31 km, intensity III · Simi Valley 32 km, intensity III · Santa Monica 32 km, intensity III · Pasadena 32 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 27 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 6,200× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 280× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.2 about 27 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 57× more
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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 13 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 14 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 43 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 6 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 14 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 34.3017, -118.4383. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 20 km (12 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 93 km (57 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Kern County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 7km SSE of Littlerock, CA
- 2.1 6km SSW of Pearblossom, CA
- 1.7 15km N of Castaic, CA
- 2.5 2km ESE of Granada Hills, CA
- 1.6 4km W of South El Monte, CA
- 1.9 1km S of Malibu, CA
- 2.3 3km WSW of South El Monte, CA
- 1.6 3km W of South El Monte, CA
- 1.8 3km W of South El Monte, CA
- 1.6 3km W of South El Monte, CA
- 2.1 3km WSW of South El Monte, CA
- 1.6 3km WSW of South El Monte, CA
- 1.9 4km W of South El Monte, CA
- 4.5 3km WSW of South El Monte, CA
- 2.1 2km S of Malibu, 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.