Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Compton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Compton in the 24 hours to 7:43 am PST (15:43 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 6 km (4 mi) W, at 2:31 pm PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Compton
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-southwest of Compton, CA, at 3:28 am PDT on 21 July 2021 (10:28 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 3km WSW of Compton, CA
21 km (13 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA · in Compton, CA
- When
- 3:28 am PDT on 21 July 2021 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west-southwest of Compton, CA · earthquakes near Compton
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 35 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 8 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 1939 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Compton, CA
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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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Compton, 3 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: Compton 3 km, intensity II · Willowbrook 4 km, intensity II · Gardena 5 km, intensity II · Lynwood 6 km, intensity II · Carson 7 km, intensity II · Westmont 8 km, intensity II · Paramount 8 km, intensity II · South Gate 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 7,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 45 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 37 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 25 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 49 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 33.8847, -118.2498. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 49 km (31 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 14km SE of Malibu, CA
- 2.8 15km SE of Malibu, CA
- 2.5 4km SSE of Charter Oak, CA
- 2.3 2km SE of Orange, CA
- 1.9 7km ESE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.2 10km NNE of Bradbury, CA
- 1.5 1km SW of Rossmoor, CA
- 1.6 1km ESE of Baldwin Hills, CA
- 1.7 2km E of Carson, CA
- 2.3 0km SSE of San Fernando, CA
- 2.1 19km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 1.5 2km SSW of San Dimas, CA
- 1.8 7km ESE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.7 7km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.2 4km W of Pomona, 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.