QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Huntington Beach, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Huntington Beach in the 24 hours to 5:28 pm PST (01:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 22 km (14 mi) NW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Huntington Beach

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) southwest of Huntington Beach, CA, at 10:36 pm PDT on 20 June 2021 (05:36 UTC), 1.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 20km SW of Huntington Beach, CA

57 km (36 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 20 km (13 mi) SW of Huntington Beach, CA

10:36 pm PDT, Jun 20, 2021 · · 1.8 km deep · released about 23 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Huntington Beach Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 36 kmLos Angeles County 72 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
10:36 pm PDT on 20 June 2021 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) southwest of Huntington Beach, CA · earthquakes near Huntington Beach
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
1.8 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Orange County, 36 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes 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 1952 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Huntington Beach, 17 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: Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Costa Mesa, Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 23 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 23 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 4.0 on 2021-04-05 — about 1,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 16 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 15 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 29 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 2km NW of Brea, CA · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 2km ENE of Westminster, CA · 28 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 33.5558, -118.1402. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 36 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 72 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 128 km (79 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura 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. 1.7 2km ESE of Carson, CA
  2. 2.5 19km S of San Pedro, CA
  3. 2.4 16km S of San Pedro, CA
  4. 2.2 3km SE of Carson, CA
  5. 2.0 3km SE of Carson, CA
  6. 1.8 22km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  7. 2.1 2km SE of Carson, CA
  8. 2.3 2km SE of Orange, CA
  9. 1.9 7km ESE of San Pedro, CA
  10. 1.5 1km SW of Rossmoor, CA
  11. 1.7 2km E of Carson, CA
  12. 2.1 19km NNE of Avalon, CA
  13. 1.8 7km ESE of San Pedro, CA
  14. 1.7 7km SE of San Pedro, CA
  15. 2.1 11km SSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, 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.