QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Yorba Linda, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yorba Linda in the 24 hours to 2:09 pm PST (22:09 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 5 km (3 mi) ESE, at 9:16 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Yorba Linda

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Yorba Linda, CA, at 4:24 pm PST on 12 February 2021 (00:24 UTC), 8.3 km deep.

USGS: 7km ESE of Yorba Linda, CA

in Anaheim, CA

4:24 pm PST, Feb 12, 2021 · · 8.3 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yorba Linda Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 22 kmLos Angeles County 60 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
4:24 pm PST on 12 February 2021 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Yorba Linda, CA · earthquakes near Yorba Linda
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 22 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, 2 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 2099 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Yorba Linda, 7 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.

Likely felt in: Yorba Linda 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 24,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 36 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 37 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 37 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 31 km N 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 33.8722, -117.7445. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 22 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 60 km (37 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 130 km (81 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 4km SE of Chino Hills, CA
  2. 1.7 14km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  3. 1.7 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  4. 1.6 11km ENE of North Tustin, CA
  5. 2.2 6km NW of Mira Loma, CA
  6. 1.6 5km N of Lake Elsinore, CA
  7. 1.5 3km E of Fontana, CA
  8. 1.5 3km NNW of Fontana, CA
  9. 1.6 7km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  10. 1.6 3km ESE of Garden Grove, CA
  11. 2.0 3km NNW of Fontana, CA
  12. 1.6 1km W of Sierra Madre, CA
  13. 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  14. 2.4 2km E of Commerce, CA
  15. 1.8 11km E of Yorba Linda, 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.