QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

Earthquake near Carpinteria, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Carpinteria in the 24 hours to 4:30 am PST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 11 km (7 mi) E, at 1:23 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Carpinteria

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Carpinteria, CA, at 11:58 pm PST on 22 November 2016 (07:58 UTC), 2.3 km deep. 105 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km SSE of Carpinteria, CA

21 km (13 mi) ESE of Santa Barbara, CA · 106 km (66 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA

11:58 pm PST, Nov 22, 2016 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Carpinteria Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 34 kmSanta Barbara County 55 kmLos Angeles County 115 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
11:58 pm PST on 22 November 2016 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Carpinteria, CA · earthquakes near Carpinteria
Magnitude
M 3.3 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
105 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Ventura County, 34 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Pitas Point fault, 3 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 3557 days ago

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 52 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Carpinteria, 8 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: Carpinteria 8 km, intensity III · Ventura 20 km, intensity III · Santa Barbara 21 km, intensity III · Ojai 27 km, intensity II · Goleta 32 km, intensity II · Oxnard 33 km, intensity II · Isla Vista 34 km, intensity II · Santa Paula 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× more

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 18 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 28 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 36 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 19 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 6 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 31 km SE 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 34.3275, -119.5000. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 55 km (34 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 115 km (71 mi) E earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 133 km (83 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 146 km (91 mi) NW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 9km NW of Santa Paula, CA
  2. 1.8 7km E of Ojai, CA
  3. 2.4 8km NW of Ojai, CA
  4. 1.6 6km E of Ojai, CA
  5. 1.9 14km W of Isla Vista, CA
  6. 1.7 13km W of Isla Vista, CA
  7. 2.2 19 km NE of Ojai, California
  8. 1.9 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
  9. 1.5 8km ENE of Carpinteria, CA
  10. 1.5 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
  11. 2.2 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
  12. 1.6 6 km W of Isla Vista, California
  13. 2.1 18 km SSE of Santa Barbara, California
  14. 1.6 14 km SSE of Santa Barbara, California
  15. 2.4 16 km SSE 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

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