QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Piru, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Piru in the 24 hours to 6:22 am PST (14:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) E, at 8:32 am PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 16 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Piru

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) southeast of Piru, CA, at 9:41 am PST on 6 March 2018 (17:41 UTC), 19 km deep. 24 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4km SE of Piru, CA

14 km (9 mi) N of Simi Valley, CA · 52 km (33 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA

9:41 am PST, Mar 6, 2018 · · 19 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 34 kmLos Angeles County 51 kmKern County 106 kmSanta Barbara County 118 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
9:41 am PST on 6 March 2018 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) southeast of Piru, CA · earthquakes near Piru
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
24 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Ventura County, 34 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Oak Ridge fault, 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 3030 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Piru, 4 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: Piru 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 270 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 29 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 36 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 36 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 36 km E 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 34.3912, -118.7602. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 34 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near Ventura County
Los Angeles County, CA 51 km (31 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 106 km (66 mi) N earthquakes near Kern County
Santa Barbara County, CA 118 km (74 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Orange County, CA 121 km (75 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 16km N of Santa Paula, CA
  2. 1.6 16km ENE of Ojai, CA
  3. 1.6 16km SW of Thousand Oaks, CA
  4. 1.6 14km NE of Ojai, CA
  5. 1.5 16km NW of Fillmore, CA
  6. 2.9 13km W of Malibu, CA
  7. 1.6 5km SSW of Camarillo, CA
  8. 1.9 2km ENE of Studio City, CA
  9. 1.9 4km SE of Piru, CA
  10. 1.7 6km SSW of Gorman, CA
  11. 1.7 16km ENE of Ojai, CA
  12. 1.9 3km SE of Piru, CA
  13. 1.9 2km NE of Simi Valley, CA
  14. 1.7 4km WNW of Chatsworth, CA
  15. 1.6 10km NNE of Ventura, 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

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