Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 11:01 pm PST (07:01 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:53 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Malibu
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Malibu, CA, at 3:13 pm PDT on 9 May 2017 (22:13 UTC), 11 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km NNW of Malibu, California
36 km (22 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 17 km (11 mi) SSE of Thousand Oaks, CA
- When
- 3:13 pm PDT on 9 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 46 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Malibu Coast 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 3467 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Malibu, CA
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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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 3 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.
Likely felt in: Agoura 11 km, intensity II · Thousand Oaks 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 30 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 37 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 25 km WSW 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 34.0537, -118.7955. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 126 km (78 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 4km SE of Malibu, CA
- 2.5 6km SSE of Malibu, CA
- 1.9 12km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 3.1 5km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
- 2.1 5km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
- 1.6 4km N of Gardena, CA
- 1.9 17km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.6 3km SE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.6 10km SSW of Malibu, CA
- 1.5 7km N of Ventura, CA
- 1.9 3km SE of Chatsworth, CA
- 2.3 5km SW of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.5 4km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
- 1.9 5km NW of Westwood, CA
- 3.6 5km NW of Westwood, 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.