QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Isla Vista fault

11 kmlong (7 mi), as mapped
not measuredhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
5quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.1 in 1812 (Santa Barbara Channel, California) — about 1,400,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 670 kilotons of TNT.

This week vs. its last ten years

Too quiet to rank: fewer than half a year's worth of weeks with any M1.5+ quake within 5 km, in ten years. A single quake here would read as "unusual", so we do not score it.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultSanta Ynez faultHosgri faultPitas Point faultOak Ridge fault (offshore)Mission Ridge fault systemSanta Cruz Island faultMalibu Coast faultSanta Cruz faultDume faultOak Ridge faultSimi-Santa Rosa faultSan Cayetano faultMid-Channel faultRed Mountain faultPleito faultWheeler Ridge faultLos Alamos faultVentura fault M 7.1 · 1812 · Santa Barbara Channel, California M 6.8 · 1925 · The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake M 6.3 · 1821 · Northwest of Santa Barbara, California M 6.0 · 1854 · Near Santa Barbara, California
The Isla Vista fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 5 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 7.1 Santa Barbara Channel, California
    December 21, 1812 · epicentre 23 km from the trace
  2. M 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake
    June 29, 1925 · epicentre 11 km from the trace
  3. M 6.3 Northwest of Santa Barbara, California
    January 1, 1821 · epicentre 16 km from the trace
  4. M 6.0 Near Santa Barbara, California
    May 31, 1854 · epicentre 11 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.7 11 km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
    2025-07-03 · 9 km from the trace
  2. M 2.9 4 km W of Santa Barbara, CA
    2025-01-31 · 6 km from the trace
  3. M 2.9 11 km SSW of Santa Barbara, California
    2017-05-06 · 10 km from the trace
  4. M 3.1 6km SW of Santa Barbara, CA
    2016-12-24 · 4 km from the trace
  5. M 2.7 5km ESE of Goleta, CA
    2016-09-01 · 3 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.