Earthquakes in Ventura County, California
The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more near Ventura County was M 3.8, 4 km SE of Piru, CA, 34 km (21 mi) E of the centre of Ventura County, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, 10 km deep. 199 people reported feeling it to USGS. The estimated shaking at the centre of Ventura County was intensity III (weak), felt by some people at rest indoors. 13 smaller earthquakes have been recorded near Ventura County since.
No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded within 50 km (31 mi) of the centre of Ventura County in the last 24 hours.
- Last 24 hours
- 0
- Last 7 days
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 9 · an average 30 days here since 2016: 11
- Last 12 months
- 166 · largest M 3.8 on 29 September 2026
- Since 2016
- 1,465 earthquakes of M1.5 or more
- Largest since 2016
- M 5.1 on 20 August 2023, 7 km SE of Ojai, CA
- Nearest mapped fault
- Oak Ridge fault, 6 km from the centre to its surface trace
Latest quake, 24 hours and 7 days: the QuakeIndex database, which reads USGS every 30 seconds, read at ; 30 days and 12 months: the QuakeIndex catalogue, counted to · earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 50 km (31 mi) of the centre of Ventura County · shaking is estimated for the centre with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses
Typical QuakeIndex 40 / 100
3 quakes of M1.5 or larger in the last 7 days within 50 km. Normal for here is 1 to 3 in a week.
Compared against Ventura County, California's own 10 years · USGS catalogue · updated
If you felt one
- Was that an earthquake? — checks what was recorded near you in the last hour
- Report what you felt to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us, and they are what produces the intensity maps
- Expect aftershocks, and be ready to Drop, Cover, and Hold On if you feel one; if you are in a damaged building, go outside and move away from it (Ready.gov, FEMA; what to do during and after an earthquake)
- Near the coast, go inland or to higher ground as soon as strong shaking stops (Ready.gov); official warnings are on Tsunami.gov
- Check the roads — Nevada Explorer — for Reno, Tahoe and the Sierra passes
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.
The last 30 days
Show these earthquakes on your own site: a free card with this strip and the latest quakes near Ventura County, California, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.
Live · last 7 days
Latest earthquakes within 50 km
None within 50 km in the latest snapshot we hold; the full 7 days load from USGS as this page opens.
Source USGS · snapshot of
The last 7 days on the map
Open the full map — zoom anywhere, or find your own location →
The centre is 34.359, -119.133, the Census internal point of Ventura County, California from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Activity on this page is measured within 50 km of it — the dashed circle.
Largest on record nearby
The strongest shaking this record implies at the centre of Ventura County, California is intensity V (moderate), from the M 5.1 of 2023, 8 km away. At that level nearly everyone notices; some objects fall and plaster can crack.
| Magnitude | When | Where | Shaking here (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 5.1 | 7 km SE of Ojai, CA · felt by 20,504 | V · Moderate | |
| M 4.7 | 6 km N of Malibu, CA · felt by 18,609 | III · Weak | |
| M 4.6 | 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA · felt by 16,945 | III · Weak | |
| M 4.1 | 17km ENE of Ojai, CA · felt by 861 | III · Weak | |
| M 4.1 | 10 km NW of Malibu, CA · felt by 6,763 | III · Weak | |
| M 4.0 | 26km S of Port Hueneme, CA · felt by 1,967 | III · Weak | |
| M 4.0 | 7 km ESE of Ojai, CA · felt by 789 | IV · Light | |
| M 4.0 | 10km NW of Santa Paula, CA · felt by 2,099 | III · Weak |
From the QuakeIndex catalogue, built from the USGS FDSN event service · within 50 km of the centre above. Shaking is an estimate for the centre from magnitude, depth and distance, with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses (Atkinson & Wald, 2007), on the Modified Mercalli scale. Ground conditions change it locally; it is a description of the past, not a hazard rating.
Before 2016
The USGS record from 1900 to 2015 lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km of the centre of Ventura County, California; the 8 largest:
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 40 km E of the centre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 40 km NNE of the centre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 37 km WNW of the centre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 40 km W of the centre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 43 km S of the centre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 33 km SSW of the centre
- 5.2 9km N of Chatsworth, California · 48 km E of the centre
- 5.2 10km ESE of Piru, California · 40 km E of the centre
USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015. Epicentres of early earthquakes are estimates. This is the record, not a forecast.
Nearest mapped faults
- Oak Ridge fault, 6 km from the centre of Ventura County, California to its surface trace
- San Cayetano fault, 10 km from the centre of Ventura County, California to its surface trace
- Ventura fault, 10 km from the centre of Ventura County, California to its surface trace
- Mission Ridge fault system, 11 km from the centre of Ventura County, California to its surface trace
USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database, within 50 km. Near is not the same as on, and faults with no surface trace are not in it.
Town pages near Ventura County, California
Santa Paula 7 km · 9 M2.5+ named after it · Ojai 14 km · 64 M2.5+ named after it · Ventura 17 km · 15 M2.5+ named after it · Oxnard 18 km · 15 M2.5+ named after it · Camarillo 18 km · 2 M2.5+ named after it · Moorpark 24 km · 0 M2.5+ named after it · Piru 32 km · 6 M2.5+ named after it · Simi Valley 34 km · 1 M2.5+ named after it · Thousand Oaks 34 km · 1 M2.5+ named after it · Carpinteria 36 km · 13 M2.5+ named after it · Agoura 44 km · 0 M2.5+ named after it · Valencia 49 km · 12 M2.5+ named after it
Each town page lists every M1.5+ earthquake within 30 km since 2016 and the ones USGS named after it. Town names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).
Be ready
Earthquakes cannot be predicted, here or anywhere, so the useful step is the one taken beforehand. The advice below is from the agencies responsible for it.
- Ready.gov: earthquakes (FEMA) — what to do before, during and after, including Drop, Cover, and Hold On
- Build a kit (FEMA) — water, food and supplies for several days; our summary
- USGS: preparedness — the hazard behind the advice, from the agency that records every quake on this page
- The Great ShakeOut — the yearly earthquake drill, with material for homes, schools and workplaces
- ShakeAlert covers Ventura County, California: alerts reach phones through Wireless Emergency Alerts and the MyShake app, seconds before shaking arrives
- Tsunami.gov (NOAA) — the official tsunami warnings for the coast; a quake page here never stands in for one
- California Earthquake Authority — retrofit grants and the state's not-for-profit earthquake insurance