Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Montecito, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Montecito in the 24 hours to 7:16 am PST (15:16 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 14 km (9 mi) WSW, at 8:40 am PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 59 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Montecito
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded in Montecito, CA, at 11:56 am PDT on 23 April 2017 (18:56 UTC), 11 km deep. 110 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km SW of Montecito, CA
7 km (4 mi) ENE of Santa Barbara, CA · 122 km (76 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 11:56 am PDT on 23 April 2017 ()
- Where
- in Montecito, CA · earthquakes near Montecito
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 110 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 38 km WNW
- 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 3402 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Montecito, 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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Santa Barbara 5 km, intensity III · Carpinteria 12 km, intensity III · Goleta 17 km, intensity II · Isla Vista 20 km, intensity II · Ventura 36 km, intensity II · Ojai 37 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
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 · 20 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 16 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 13 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 48 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 34.4235, -119.6438. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Ventura County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | E | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kern County, CA | 132 km (82 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 12km W of Ojai, CA
- 1.5 8km E of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 15km NNE of Ojai, CA
- 1.7 10km ENE of Carpinteria, CA
- 2.1 12km WSW of Ojai, CA
- 2.4 12km WSW of Ojai, CA
- 2.6 12km WSW of Ojai, CA
- 1.5 9km NNE of Goleta, CA
- 2.1 2km N of Ojai, CA
- 2.3 23km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 1.5 2km N of Ojai, CA
- 2.0 12km W of Isla Vista, CA
- 2.1 20km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.9 19km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
- 2.6 19km SSE of Carpinteria, 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.