QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 4:40 am PST (12:40 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 11:57 am PDT on 22 October 2020 (18:57 UTC), 8.6 km deep.

USGS: 1km SSW of Sylmar, CA

14 km (9 mi) SSE of Santa Clarita, CA · 31 km (20 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA

11:57 am PDT, Oct 22, 2020 · · 8.6 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Angeles Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 21 kmVentura County 63 kmOrange County 93 kmKern County 119 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
11:57 am PDT on 22 October 2020 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 21 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Northridge blind thrust, 4 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 2212 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 34 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: Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch, Burbank, La Crescenta-Montrose, Valencia, Hidden Hills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 29,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 13 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 15 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 43 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 5 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 15 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 34.3003, -118.4513. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 21 km (13 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 63 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 93 km (58 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

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

  1. 3.0 3km E of Simi Valley, CA
  2. 1.8 2km SSW of Sylmar, CA
  3. 1.9 5km NNW of Chatsworth, CA
  4. 1.8 13km N of Fillmore, CA
  5. 1.7 13km N of Fillmore, CA
  6. 1.6 13km N of Fillmore, CA
  7. 1.8 1km ESE of Malibu, CA
  8. 2.2 2km NE of Malibu, CA
  9. 1.8 4km NNE of Elizabeth Lake, CA
  10. 1.7 2km W of Willowbrook, CA
  11. 3.5 2km W of Willowbrook, CA
  12. 1.6 19km N of Fillmore, CA
  13. 1.7 19km N of Fillmore, CA
  14. 1.6 19km NNW of Piru, CA
  15. 1.6 19km N of Fillmore, 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.