Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Westminster, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Westminster in the 24 hours to 7:06 am PST (15:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 17 km (10 mi) W, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Westminster
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Westminster, CA, at 4:58 am PDT on 13 September 2024 (11:58 UTC), 9.9 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km SSE of Westminster, CA
in Westminster, CA · 50 km (31 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:58 am PDT on 13 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Westminster, CA · earthquakes near Westminster
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 21 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon 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 787 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Westminster, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Westminster, 3 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: Westminster 3 km, intensity II · Fountain Valley 4 km, intensity II · Garden Grove 6 km, intensity II · Stanton 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
- 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 4.5 on 2020-09-19 — about 16,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 12 km S of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 32 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 12 km S of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 45 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 33.7348, -117.9903. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 21 km (13 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 126 km (78 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| San Diego County, CA | 138 km (86 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
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 6 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.8 4 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 1.7 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.1 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.3 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 1.6 5 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.7 4 km ESE of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.7 3 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 1.6 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.6 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.1 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 1.9 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.5 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.0 6 km SE of Ontario, CA
- 1.5 5 km SE of Ontario, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.