Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Ventura, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ventura in the 24 hours to 12:50 am PST (08:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 50 km (31 mi) ENE, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ventura
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Ventura, CA, at 7:57 pm PST on 7 December 2017 (03:57 UTC), 3.5 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8km NNE of Ventura, CA
10 km (6 mi) NE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA · 80 km (50 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 7:57 pm PST on 7 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Ventura, CA · earthquakes near Ventura
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 6 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Ventura fault, 7 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 3261 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ventura, CA
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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 Ventura, 12 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: Ventura 12 km, intensity II · Santa Paula 12 km, intensity II · Ojai 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 2,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 45 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 43 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 48 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 34 km W 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 34.3457, -119.1910. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 6 km (3 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | E | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kern County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 163 km (101 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
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 16km SSW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.6 10km NNE of Ventura, CA
- 1.7 18km S of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.7 11km SW of Westlake Village, CA
- 1.6 14km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
- 2.1 12km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 1.8 7km WNW of Castaic, CA
- 2.0 26km S of Port Hueneme, CA
- 2.3 26km S of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.9 14km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
- 1.8 15km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
- 1.7 14km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
- 2.0 7km S of Montecito, CA
- 2.5 9km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.6 21km S of Port Hueneme, 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.