QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Simi Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Simi Valley in the 24 hours to 3:24 am PST (11:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 17 km (10 mi) E, at 9:45 am PST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 26 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Simi Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) northeast of Simi Valley, CA, at 12:49 pm PDT on 23 May 2016 (19:49 UTC), 8.2 km deep.

USGS: 12km NE of Simi Valley, CA

13 km (8 mi) NE of Simi Valley, CA · 45 km (28 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA

12:49 pm PDT, May 23, 2016 · · 8.2 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Simi Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 41 kmVentura County 43 kmKern County 110 kmOrange County 112 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
12:49 pm PDT on 23 May 2016 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) northeast of Simi Valley, CA · earthquakes near Simi Valley
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 41 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Sierra Madre fault, 1 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 3824 days ago

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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Simi Valley, 15 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: Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde, Valencia, Santa Clarita, Piru, Castaic.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 20 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 27 km ENE 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 34.3615, -118.6620. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 41 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 43 km (27 mi) W earthquakes near Ventura County
Kern County, CA 110 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Kern County
Orange County, CA 112 km (69 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

37 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 14km N of Santa Paula, CA
  2. 1.7 6km SSW of Sherman Oaks, CA
  3. 1.9 2km E of Tarzana, CA
  4. 1.6 5km SW of Sherman Oaks, CA
  5. 2.0 14km S of Camarillo, CA
  6. 1.7 2km NNE of Marina del Rey, CA
  7. 1.6 8km SW of Malibu, CA
  8. 1.5 6km SSW of Malibu, CA
  9. 1.6 20km SSE of Gorman, CA
  10. 2.7 10km SE of Gorman, CA
  11. 1.6 0km SSW of Baldwin Hills, CA
  12. 1.7 5km SW of Valencia, CA
  13. 1.8 16km NE of Ojai, CA
  14. 2.1 0km NW of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
  15. 1.6 12km NE 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.