QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Charter Oak, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Charter Oak in the 24 hours to 4:28 am PST (12:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 64 km (40 mi) WSW, at 8:40 am PDT on 27 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,735 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Charter Oak

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Charter Oak, CA, at 5:59 am PST on 19 December 2021 (13:59 UTC), 12 km deep. 24 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4km SSE of Charter Oak, CA

6 km (4 mi) WNW of Pomona, CA · 54 km (34 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

5:59 am PST, Dec 19, 2021 · · 12 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Charter Oak Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 42 kmOrange County 45 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
5:59 am PST on 19 December 2021 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Charter Oak, CA · earthquakes near Charter Oak
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
24 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 42 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Sierra Madre fault, 6 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 1717 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Charter Oak, 4 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: San Dimas 4 km, intensity II · Diamond Bar 5 km, intensity II · La Verne 6 km, intensity II · Covina 6 km, intensity II · Walnut 7 km, intensity II · Pomona 7 km, intensity II · Glendora 8 km, intensity II · Azusa 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 75,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 140 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 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 23 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 27 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 14 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 15 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 3km W of Lytle Creek, CA · 33 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 34.0755, -117.8263. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 42 km (26 mi) WNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 45 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 152 km (95 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

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

  1. 3.3 6km E of Ontario, CA
  2. 1.6 5km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  3. 1.7 5km NNE of Fontana, CA
  4. 1.9 6km SSE of Lytle Creek, CA
  5. 1.7 4km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  6. 2.2 7km SSW of Littlerock, CA
  7. 1.8 3km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
  8. 1.6 7km SSE of Littlerock, CA
  9. 1.8 8km N of Glendora, CA
  10. 2.1 3km NE of Gardena, CA
  11. 1.6 2km NNW of Fontana, CA
  12. 1.5 2km E of Home Gardens, CA
  13. 1.5 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  14. 1.7 6km WNW of Fontana, CA
  15. 2.6 2km WSW of Silver Lake, 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.