QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near South Whittier, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Whittier in the 24 hours to 4:04 am PST (12:04 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 23 km (14 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Whittier

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in South Whittier, CA, at 10:36 am PDT on 20 May 2022 (17:36 UTC), 9.8 km deep.

USGS: 3km SE of South Whittier, CA

in Whittier, CA · 37 km (23 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

10:36 am PDT, May 20, 2022 · · 9.8 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Whittier Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 36 kmOrange County 37 kmVentura County 112 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 am PDT on 20 May 2022 ()
Where
in South Whittier, CA · earthquakes near South Whittier
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 36 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, 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 1637 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. 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: South Whittier in town, intensity II · La Mirada 3 km, intensity II · Whittier 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 30,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 35 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 14 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 36 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 37 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 23 km E 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 33.9445, -118.0203. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 36 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 37 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 112 km (70 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
San Diego County, CA 154 km (96 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

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

  1. 1.6 4km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  2. 1.8 2km WNW of Glendora, CA
  3. 1.8 12km N of Foothill Ranch, CA
  4. 2.1 1km SSE of Long Beach, CA
  5. 1.6 0km N of Carson, CA
  6. 1.6 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  7. 1.7 6km W of Marina del Rey, CA
  8. 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  9. 2.8 10km WSW of Lytle Creek, CA
  10. 3.3 10km WSW of Lytle Creek, CA
  11. 1.6 3km SSE of Gardena, CA
  12. 2.4 3km S of Gardena, CA
  13. 1.9 1km N of Carson, CA
  14. 1.9 3km S of Duarte, CA
  15. 2.1 4km E 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.