QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.1mw

Earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rancho Palos Verdes in the 24 hours to 4:44 pm PST (00:44 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 19 km (12 mi) ENE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes

This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, at 8:27 am PST on 1 January 2024 (16:27 UTC), 11 km deep. 5,636 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18 km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

49 km (30 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · 28 km (17 mi) S of Torrance, CA

8:27 am PST, Jan 1, 2024 · · 11 km deep · released about 19 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 56 kmLos Angeles County 69 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
8:27 am PST on 1 January 2024 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA · earthquakes near Rancho Palos Verdes
Magnitude
M 4.1 (mw)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
5,636 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
Orange County, 56 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin fault, 5 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 331 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 101 km (63 mi) from the epicentre. In Rancho Palos Verdes, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Rancho Palos Verdes 18 km, intensity III · Palos Verdes Estates 25 km, intensity III · Avalon 27 km, intensity III · Long Beach 27 km, intensity III · Torrance 29 km, intensity III · Carson 29 km, intensity III · Redondo Beach 30 km, intensity III · Seal Beach 30 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 9,100× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.1 about 19 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 39× more

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 4.3 on 2021-09-18 — about 2.1 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 35 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 35 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 25 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 33.5798, -118.3703. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 56 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 69 km (43 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 112 km (69 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 4 km NNW of Huntington Park, CA
  2. 1.8 16 km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  3. 2.7 22 km SSW of Newport Beach, CA
  4. 1.7 14 km S of Malibu Beach, CA
  5. 1.7 4 km S of San Pedro, CA
  6. 1.6 2 km NNE of Carson, CA
  7. 1.5 4 km SSW of Westminster, CA
  8. 1.7 2 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
  9. 2.2 21 km E of Avalon, CA
  10. 1.8 2 km NW of Marina del Rey, CA
  11. 2.1 5 km W of Hermosa Beach, CA
  12. 1.7 3 km SSE of Costa Mesa, CA
  13. 3.4 3 km ENE of Newport Beach, CA
  14. 3.6 2 km NE of Newport Beach, CA
  15. 2.8 3 km NE of Newport 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.