The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 34 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Palmdale, the biggest of them M3.2. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Palmdale came at 1.6× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Palmdale — records go back to 1980 — was the M6.7 of Jan 17, 1994, 12:30 UTC: Northridge, California, earthquake.
How we figure this: 30 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 18.8 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Palmdale, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Palmdale are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Palmdale
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.6 | 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 06:51 AM | 7 km | 86 km NNE |
| M1.8 | 6 km NNW of Boron, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 04:29 PM | -1 km | 65 km NE |
| M1.6 | 6 km WNW of Grapevine, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 05:27 AM | 17 km | 91 km WNW |
| M1.1 | 7 km S of Lytle Creek, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 05:33 PM | 9 km | 71 km SE |
| M1.3 | 19 km SSE of Bodfish, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 02:02 PM | 3 km | 99 km NNW |
| M0.6 | 1 km SE of Loma Linda, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 03:01 AM | 15 km | 99 km SE |
| M1.8 | 2 km SE of Chatsworth, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 02:08 AM | 17 km | 57 km SW |
| M1.4 | 15 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 11:12 PM | 7 km | 89 km NNE |
| M0.8 | 15 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 08:24 PM | 6 km | 89 km NNE |
| M1.1 | 2 km SE of Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 03:04 PM | 11 km | 73 km SE |
Earthquakes per year near Palmdale (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Palmdale
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 704 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Palmdale (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M6.7 | Northridge, California, earthquake | Jan 17, 1994, 12:30 UTC | 56 km |
| M5.9 | The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake | Oct 01, 1987, 14:42 UTC | 58 km |
| M5.9 | 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California | Jan 17, 1994, 12:31 UTC | 48 km |
| M5.8 | The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake | Jun 28, 1991, 14:43 UTC | 36 km |
| M5.7 | 12km NW of California City, California | Jul 11, 1992, 18:14 UTC | 70 km |
| M5.6 | 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California | Jan 17, 1994, 23:33 UTC | 60 km |
| M5.5 | The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake | Feb 28, 1990, 23:43 UTC | 62 km |
| M5.4 | 5km S of Chino Hills, CA | Jul 29, 2008, 18:42 UTC | 77 km |
Nearby places
Quartz Hill, CA (12 km) · Lancaster, CA (13 km) · Littlerock, CA (14 km) · Santa Clarita, CA (44 km) · Valencia, CA (48 km) · Pasadena, CA (48 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 18:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 18:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.