Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.1mw
Earthquake near Ojai, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ojai in the 24 hours to 3:01 am PST (11:01 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 7 km (5 mi) S, at 2:56 am PST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ojai
This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Ojai, CA, at 12:42 am PST on 12 March 2016 (08:42 UTC), 19 km deep. 861 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 17km ENE of Ojai, CA
83 km (51 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA · 33 km (20 mi) NNE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA
- When
- 12:42 am PST on 12 March 2016 ()
- Where
- 17 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Ojai, CA · earthquakes near Ojai
- Magnitude
- M 4.1 (mw)
- Depth
- 19 km below the surface
- Felt
- 861 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 19 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Santa Ynez fault, 2 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 1604 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ojai, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ojai, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 105 km (65 mi) from the epicentre. In Ojai, 17 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Ojai 17 km, intensity III · Santa Paula 19 km, intensity III · Piru 28 km, intensity III · Moorpark 32 km, intensity III · Ventura 34 km, intensity III · Camarillo 34 km, intensity III · Frazier Park 36 km, intensity III · Oxnard 37 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 24 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 7,200× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.1 about 24 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 50× more
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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 41 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 39 km W 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 34.5217, -119.0748. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 19 km (12 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kern County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Orange County, CA | 152 km (94 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 4km SSE of Frazier Park, CA
- 2.0 14km N of Piru, CA
- 1.6 15km ENE of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 12km NE of Simi Valley, CA
- 1.6 12km NE of Simi Valley, CA
- 1.9 9km WSW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 11km NNW of Piru, CA
- 1.9 1km SE of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.8 12km SW of Valencia, CA
- 2.1 10km NW of Castaic, CA
- 1.8 6km NNW of Fillmore, CA
- 1.6 6km NNW of Fillmore, CA
- 2.2 6km N of Fillmore, CA
- 2.4 7km N of Fillmore, CA
- 1.7 13km N of Castaic, 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.