QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Maricopa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricopa in the 24 hours to 8:36 am PST (16:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 51 km (32 mi) ESE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Maricopa

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 17 km (10 mi) south of Maricopa, CA, at 12:06 am PDT on 17 March 2017 (07:06 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 17km S of Maricopa, CA

12:06 am PDT, Mar 17, 2017 · · 10 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 67 kmSanta Barbara County 70 kmKern County 80 kmSan Luis Obispo County 108 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
12:06 am PDT on 17 March 2017 ()
Where
17 km (10 mi) south of Maricopa, CA · earthquakes near Maricopa
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ventura County, 67 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 4 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 3467 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricopa, 17 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: South Taft, Taft Heights, Pine Mountain Club, Taft, Ford City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 39 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 33 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 46 km S 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 34.9082, -119.4215. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 67 km (41 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 70 km (43 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Kern County, CA 80 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 108 km (67 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Los Angeles County, CA 132 km (82 mi) SE earthquakes near Los Angeles County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 15km SE of Maricopa, CA
  2. 1.8 14km SE of Buttonwillow, CA
  3. 1.5 8km S of Buttonwillow, CA
  4. 1.6 18km S of Maricopa, CA
  5. 1.9 9km ESE of Maricopa, CA
  6. 1.5 4km W of Lebec, CA
  7. 3.1 4km W of Lebec, CA
  8. 1.5 17km S of Maricopa, CA
  9. 2.5 17km S of Maricopa, CA
  10. 1.6 23km SSW of Frazier Park, CA
  11. 1.6 18km WNW of Grapevine, CA
  12. 1.5 14km SW of Arvin, CA
  13. 1.6 15km NNE of Ojai, CA
  14. 1.7 20km W of Taft, CA
  15. 3.2 9km ESE of Maricopa, 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.