Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of Carpinteria, CA, at 10:48 pm PST on 10 December 2016 (06:48 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km N of Carpinteria, CA
18 km (11 mi) E of Santa Barbara, CA · 112 km (69 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 10:48 pm PST on 10 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north of Carpinteria, CA · earthquakes near Carpinteria
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 36 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mission Ridge fault system, under 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 3564 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carpinteria, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Carpinteria, 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: Carpinteria 3 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 27 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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 1,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 48 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 8 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 12 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 42 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 34.4298, -119.5192. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 36 km (23 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 118 km (74 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kern County, CA | 125 km (78 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 136 km (85 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
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 16km W of Ventura, CA
- 2.2 9km NW of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.8 7km E of Ojai, CA
- 2.4 8km NW of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 6km E of Ojai, CA
- 1.9 14km W of Isla Vista, CA
- 1.7 13km W of Isla Vista, CA
- 2.2 19 km NE of Ojai, California
- 1.9 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 1.5 8km ENE of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.5 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 2.2 13 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 1.6 6 km W of Isla Vista, California
- 2.1 18 km SSE of Santa Barbara, California
- 1.6 14 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
- 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.