The 1:31 p.m. quake was centered two miles northeast of Yorba Linda, or 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and occurred at a depth of 5 1/2 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
A quake of such magnitude is unlikely to cause significant damage.
Paul Wormser, acting director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, said there was no damage to anything on the premises.
"It was a sharp jolt, very brief, just one very sharp jolt," he said.
The epicenter was well away -- about 150 miles -- from where an earthquake swarm has been shaking the state's southeastern corner since Sunday.
