QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 1:38 pm PST (21:38 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 4:07 am PST on 19 December 2020 (12:07 UTC), 6.3 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km W of Sylmar, CA

12 km (8 mi) S of Santa Clarita, CA · 33 km (20 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA

4:07 am PST, Dec 19, 2020 · · 6.3 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Angeles Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 24 kmVentura County 60 kmOrange County 96 kmKern County 118 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
4:07 am PST on 19 December 2020 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 24 km ESE
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 2151 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 36 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, Valencia, Burbank, Val Verde, Hidden Hills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 20,000 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 · 12 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 16 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 4 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 16 km NE 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 34.3088, -118.4815. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 24 km (15 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 60 km (37 mi) W earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 96 km (60 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Kern County, CA 118 km (73 mi) N earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 1km N of Lennox, CA
  2. 1.8 1km SSE of Inglewood, CA
  3. 1.6 2km WSW of Inglewood, CA
  4. 1.6 1km SW of Inglewood, CA
  5. 1.6 2km W of Inglewood, CA
  6. 2.0 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
  7. 1.6 3km W of Inglewood, CA
  8. 1.7 2km WNW of Lennox, CA
  9. 1.6 2km ENE of Lennox, CA
  10. 2.4 1km NE of Lennox, CA
  11. 2.0 2km WNW of Lennox, CA
  12. 1.8 2km WNW of Lennox, CA
  13. 2.0 2km NW of Lennox, CA
  14. 4.0 2km E of Lennox, CA
  15. 2.4 2km NW of Lennox, 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.