QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Piru, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Piru in the 24 hours to 2:38 am PST (10:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) E, at 8:32 am PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 16 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Piru

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north of Piru, CA, at 12:31 am PDT on 4 April 2019 (07:31 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 10km N of Piru, CA

64 km (40 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA · 27 km (17 mi) N of Simi Valley, CA

12:31 am PDT, Apr 4, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 35 kmLos Angeles County 60 kmKern County 94 kmSanta Barbara County 114 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
12:31 am PDT on 4 April 2019 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) north of Piru, CA · earthquakes near Piru
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ventura County, 35 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
San Cayetano fault, 8 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 2779 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Piru, 10 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: Val Verde, Castaic, Fillmore, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Moorpark.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 7,700 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 · 40 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 40 km ESE 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 34.5040, -118.7953. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 35 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ventura County
Los Angeles County, CA 60 km (37 mi) SE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 94 km (58 mi) N earthquakes near Kern County
Santa Barbara County, CA 114 km (71 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Orange County, CA 131 km (82 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 14km N of Castaic, CA
  2. 1.9 5km NE of Pacoima, CA
  3. 1.6 6km NNE of Santa Paula, CA
  4. 2.1 12km N of Castaic, CA
  5. 1.6 2km SSW of San Fernando, CA
  6. 2.3 2km SW of San Fernando, CA
  7. 1.6 4km SSW of Frazier Park, CA
  8. 1.9 9km NW of Santa Paula, CA
  9. 2.0 11km NNW of Santa Paula, CA
  10. 1.7 11km E of Ojai, CA
  11. 1.9 4km NNE of Santa Clarita, CA
  12. 2.7 4km NNE of Santa Clarita, CA
  13. 2.1 1km WSW of Chatsworth, CA
  14. 1.8 1km ENE of Panorama City, CA
  15. 1.8 6km SW of Calabasas, 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.