QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Signal Hill, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Signal Hill in the 24 hours to 5:12 am PST (13:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 2 km (2 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Signal Hill

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Signal Hill, CA, at 12:57 pm PDT on 25 June 2026 (19:57 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 0 km E of Signal Hill, CA

in Long Beach, CA · 33 km (21 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA

12:57 pm PDT, Jun 25, 2026 · · 11 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 38 kmLos Angeles County 44 kmVentura County 108 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
12:57 pm PDT on 25 June 2026 ()
Where
in Signal Hill, CA · earthquakes near Signal Hill
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 38 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, 11 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 140 days ago

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 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Signal Hill in town, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 25,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 25 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 25 km SE 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 33.8048, -118.1633. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 38 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 44 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 108 km (67 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 4 km E of Lennox, CA
  2. 2.2 5 km E of Lennox, CA
  3. 1.6 4 km ESE of Lennox, CA
  4. 1.6 3 km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
  5. 1.6 4 km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
  6. 1.6 4 km E of Lennox, CA
  7. 2.0 4 km N of Gardena, CA
  8. 1.7 4 km E of Lennox, CA
  9. 2.4 1 km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
  10. 2.6 5 km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
  11. 1.7 3 km ESE of Lennox, CA
  12. 1.6 4 km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
  13. 1.6 3 km E of Lennox, CA
  14. 1.6 4 km E of Lennox, CA
  15. 1.9 4 km E of Lennox, 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.