QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4ml

Earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rancho Palos Verdes in the 24 hours to 3:45 pm PST (23:45 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south-southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, at 9:40 pm PST on 22 February 2026 (05:40 UTC), 15 km deep. 1,029 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km SSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

44 km (27 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · 24 km (15 mi) SSW of Torrance, CA

9:40 pm PST, Feb 22, 2026 · · 15 km deep · released about 1.9 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Rancho Palos Verdes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 61 kmLos Angeles County 66 kmVentura County 104 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
9:40 pm PST on 22 February 2026 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south-southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA · earthquakes near Rancho Palos Verdes
Magnitude
M 3.4 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1,029 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Orange County, 61 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin fault, 3 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 133 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Rancho Palos Verdes, 14 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 14 km, intensity III · Palos Verdes Estates 20 km, intensity II · Torrance 25 km, intensity II · Redondo Beach 25 km, intensity II · Carson 27 km, intensity II · Long Beach 28 km, intensity II · Manhattan Beach 29 km, intensity II · Lawndale 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× 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 21 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 40 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 42 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 40 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 1 km SW of Las Flores, California · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 40 km NW 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 33.6235, -118.4355. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 61 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 66 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 104 km (65 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. 2.1 1 km N of Huntington Beach, CA
  2. 1.9 14 km SSW of San Pedro, CA
  3. 2.3 9 km SE of San Pedro, CA
  4. 1.6 4 km ENE of Carson, CA
  5. 1.6 2 km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
  6. 1.6 2 km WSW of Santa Fe Springs, CA
  7. 2.3 20 km SSE of San Pedro, CA
  8. 2.5 3 km N of Gardena, CA
  9. 2.2 18 km NE of Avalon, CA
  10. 1.6 2 km ESE of Century City, CA
  11. 2.2 2 km N of Culver City, CA
  12. 1.5 13 km NNE of Avalon, CA
  13. 2.3 3 km S of Lakewood, CA
  14. 2.4 3 km NE of Long Beach, CA
  15. 2.4 4 km W of Santa Monica, 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.