QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Rolling Hills Estates, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rolling Hills Estates in the 24 hours to 5:28 am PST (13:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 16 km (10 mi) E, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rolling Hills Estates

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Rolling Hills Estates, CA, at 5:30 am PST on 23 February 2023 (13:30 UTC), 11 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km NNW of Rolling Hills Estates, CA

25 km (15 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · in Torrance, CA

5:30 am PST, Feb 23, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rolling Hills Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 45 kmOrange County 56 kmVentura County 94 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
5:30 am PST on 23 February 2023 ()
Where
in Rolling Hills Estates, CA · earthquakes near Rolling Hills Estates
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 45 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes fault, under 1 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 1358 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: Palos Verdes Estates, Torrance, Lomita, Rolling Hills, Redondo Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 36,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 39 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 25 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 39 km ESE 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 33.8013, -118.3642. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 56 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 94 km (58 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4km SW of Compton, CA
  2. 1.8 4km SSE of Highland Park, CA
  3. 2.8 2km ENE of Walnut Park, CA
  4. 2.7 2km WSW of Bell, CA
  5. 2.3 3km NNE of Buena Park, CA
  6. 1.5 1km SSW of Century City, CA
  7. 1.8 31km NE of Santa Barbara Is., CA
  8. 1.7 2km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  9. 2.0 18km SSW of Malibu, CA
  10. 3.7 21km SSW of Malibu, CA
  11. 1.7 26km S of Malibu, CA
  12. 2.2 6km WNW of Malibu Beach, CA
  13. 1.7 2km WNW of Silver Lake, CA
  14. 2.5 3km ESE of Carson, CA
  15. 1.7 22km S of Malibu Beach, 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.