Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Goleta, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Goleta in the 24 hours to 11:06 am PST (19:06 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 8 km (5 mi) SE, at 8:42 am PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Goleta
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Goleta, CA, at 8:42 am PDT on 1 September 2016 (15:42 UTC), 5.8 km deep. 120 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km ESE of Goleta, CA
6 km (4 mi) WNW of Santa Barbara, CA · 134 km (83 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 8:42 am PDT on 1 September 2016 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Goleta, CA · earthquakes near Goleta
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 120 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 27 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mission Ridge fault system, 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 3719 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Goleta, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Goleta, 5 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: Goleta 5 km, intensity III · Santa Barbara 7 km, intensity III · Isla Vista 8 km, intensity III · Carpinteria 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 310 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 50,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 35,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 310 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 14 km S of this epicentre
- 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 43 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 22 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1978 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 14 km SSE 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 34.4222, -119.7795. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 27 km (17 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Ventura County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | E | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kern County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 13km W of Isla Vista, CA
- 2.2 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 1.8 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 1.8 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 2.0 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 2.2 12 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 1.6 14 km WSW of Isla Vista, California
- 2.1 13 km WNW of Isla Vista, California
- 3.0 12 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 4.1 12 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 2.2 6 km NNE of Ventura, California
- 2.5 12 km SSW of Santa Barbara, California
- 2.0 12 km SSW of Santa Barbara, California
- 3.2 12 km SSW of Santa Barbara, California
- 2.7 14 km SSW of Santa Barbara, California
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.