QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Ojai, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ojai in the 24 hours to 2:11 pm PST (22:11 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 7 km (5 mi) S, at 2:56 am PST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ojai

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Ojai, CA, at 11:29 am PDT on 19 August 2017 (18:29 UTC), 8.8 km deep.

USGS: 12km WNW of Ojai, CA

27 km (17 mi) NNW of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA · 102 km (63 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA

11:29 am PDT, Aug 19, 2017 · · 8.8 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 26 kmSanta Barbara County 62 kmLos Angeles County 106 kmKern County 111 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
11:29 am PDT on 19 August 2017 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Ojai, CA · earthquakes near Ojai
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ventura County, 26 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Santa Ynez 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 3304 days ago

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 Ojai, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Meiners Oaks, Mira Monte, Oak View, Carpinteria, Toro Canyon, Summerland.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 6,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 46 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 40 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 13 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 26 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 44 km S 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 34.4957, -119.3587. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 62 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 106 km (66 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 111 km (69 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 140 km (87 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

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

  1. 1.8 15km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
  2. 1.9 19km S of Maricopa, CA
  3. 2.3 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  4. 1.7 6km ESE of Port Hueneme, CA
  5. 1.7 7km NNW of Fillmore, CA
  6. 1.5 4km S of Frazier Park, CA
  7. 2.4 17km SW of Port Hueneme, CA
  8. 2.4 1km WSW of Santa Barbara, CA
  9. 2.8 16km N of Santa Paula, CA
  10. 1.5 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  11. 2.2 16km N of Santa Paula, CA
  12. 1.7 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  13. 1.8 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  14. 1.6 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  15. 1.6 15km N of Santa Paula, 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.