QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 3:14 am PST (11:14 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 9:40 pm PST on 30 November 2020 (05:40 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 2km S of Granada Hills, CA

27 km (17 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA · 17 km (11 mi) WNW of Burbank, CA

9:40 pm PST, Nov 30, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Angeles Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 23 kmVentura County 59 kmOrange County 92 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
9:40 pm PST on 30 November 2020 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 23 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Sierra Madre fault, 7 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 2172 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Los Angeles, 32 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, Hidden Hills, Stevenson Ranch, Burbank, Topanga, Valencia.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 32,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 5 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 22 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 44 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 3 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 22 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 34.2488, -118.5013. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 23 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 59 km (37 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 92 km (57 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2km SE of Inglewood, CA
  2. 1.9 1km W of Piru, CA
  3. 3.0 1km ENE of Huntington Park, CA
  4. 1.7 12km NNE of Piru, CA
  5. 1.9 6km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
  6. 1.6 4km NE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
  7. 2.5 0km NW of Pacoima, CA
  8. 2.3 1km WNW of Pacoima, CA
  9. 1.5 4km NNE of Montebello, CA
  10. 2.1 6km SSW of Agoura Hills, CA
  11. 1.7 7km WSW of Malibu, CA
  12. 1.7 5km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
  13. 2.4 6km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  14. 3.0 3km E of Simi Valley, CA
  15. 1.8 2km SSW of Sylmar, 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.