Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Castaic, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Castaic in the 24 hours to 5:17 am PST (13:17 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 11 km (7 mi) S, at 8:32 am PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 16 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Castaic
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Castaic, CA, at 9:29 am PDT on 6 August 2016 (16:29 UTC), 6.3 km deep.
USGS: 12km NE of Castaic, CA
61 km (38 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA · 16 km (10 mi) N of Santa Clarita, CA
- When
- 9:29 am PDT on 6 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Castaic, CA · earthquakes near Castaic
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 48 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gabriel fault, 12 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 3748 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Castaic, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Castaic, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Castaic, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Valencia, Val Verde, Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch, Agua Dulce, Leona Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.3 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 4.1 on 2016-03-12 — about 6,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 39 km S of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 22 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 32 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 22 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 22 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 34.5622, -118.5315. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kern County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Orange County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 6km S of Piru, CA
- 1.5 4km SW of Encino, CA
- 2.1 5km NNW of Vincent, CA
- 2.0 5 km ESE of Piru, California
- 2.2 6 km NW of San Fernando, California
- 1.8 1 km NNW of North Hills, California
- 1.6 5km NE of Lebec, CA
- 1.7 4km N of Simi Valley, CA
- 1.7 2km S of Sherman Oaks, CA
- 1.6 14km N of Castaic, CA
- 1.6 3km WSW of Lake View Terrace, CA
- 1.5 15km N of Fillmore, CA
- 1.5 9km NNE of Castaic, CA
- 1.5 6km W of Fillmore, CA
- 1.6 4km SSE of San Fernando, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.