QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Malibu, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 6:38 am PST (14:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:53 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Malibu

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 28 km (18 mi) south of Malibu, CA, at 3:20 am PDT on 1 July 2023 (10:20 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 26km S of Malibu, CA

45 km (28 mi) SW of Los Angeles, CA · 38 km (24 mi) WSW of Redondo Beach, CA

3:20 am PDT, Jul 1, 2023 · · 14 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Malibu Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 69 kmVentura County 72 kmOrange County 95 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
3:20 am PDT on 1 July 2023 ()
Where
28 km (18 mi) south of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 69 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin fault, 13 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 1228 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. In Malibu, 28 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 4.2 on 2023-01-25 — about 4,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 38 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 38 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 32 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 1 km SW of Las Flores, California · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 19 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 33.7727, -118.8028. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 69 km (43 mi) NE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 95 km (59 mi) E earthquakes near Orange County
Santa Barbara County, CA 142 km (88 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  2. 2.5 9 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  3. 1.7 12 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  4. 1.8 13 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  5. 2.2 10 km NW of Malibu, CA
  6. 2.4 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  7. 3.0 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  8. 2.3 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  9. 4.6 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  10. 2.3 4 km SW of Sherman Oaks, CA
  11. 1.8 18 km S of Port Hueneme, CA
  12. 2.0 1 km SSE of Century City, CA
  13. 2.0 5 km ESE of Malibu, CA
  14. 2.0 21 km W of Palos Verdes Estates, CA
  15. 2.3 8 km WNW of Malibu, 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.