Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Littlerock, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Littlerock in the 24 hours to 5:08 am PST (13:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 73 km (45 mi) W, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Littlerock
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south of Littlerock, CA, at 2:09 pm PST on 28 November 2020 (22:09 UTC), 8.9 km deep.
USGS: 6km S of Littlerock, CA
63 km (39 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA · 18 km (11 mi) SE of Palmdale, CA
- When
- 2:09 pm PST on 28 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) south of Littlerock, CA · earthquakes near Littlerock
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 40 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 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 2174 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Littlerock, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Littlerock, 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 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Littlerock, 6 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: Sun Village, Vincent, Palmdale, Acton, Desert View Highlands, Lake Los Angeles.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 36,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 36 km W of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 46 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 36 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 36 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 22 km S 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 34.4643, -117.9790. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kern County, CA | 120 km (74 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 3km WNW of Sylmar, CA
- 1.6 2km N of Claremont, CA
- 2.2 7km SW of Pearblossom, CA
- 1.6 2km SW of San Fernando, CA
- 1.8 2km SW of San Fernando, CA
- 1.9 7km SW of Pearblossom, CA
- 1.5 7km SSE of Littlerock, CA
- 2.0 2km N of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.6 5km NNW of Sylmar, CA
- 1.6 1km W of Sierra Madre, CA
- 1.8 4km NNW of Wrightwood, CA
- 1.8 7km SW of Pearblossom, CA
- 2.5 0km NW of Pacoima, CA
- 2.3 1km WNW of Pacoima, CA
- 1.6 3km SSE of Charter Oak, 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.