QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Santa Paula, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Santa Paula in the 24 hours to 5:05 am PST (13:05 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 9 km (6 mi) NW, at 2:39 am PDT on 23 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Santa Paula

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north of Santa Paula, CA, at 6:51 pm PDT on 22 August 2017 (01:51 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 15km N of Santa Paula, CA

80 km (50 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA · 29 km (18 mi) NNE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA

6:51 pm PDT, Aug 22, 2017 · · 18 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Santa Paula Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 15 kmLos Angeles County 82 kmSanta Barbara County 88 kmKern County 101 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
6:51 pm PDT on 22 August 2017 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) north of Santa Paula, CA · earthquakes near Santa Paula
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ventura County, 15 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Santa Ynez fault, 6 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Santa Paula, 15 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: Ojai, Fillmore, Meiners Oaks, Mira Monte, Oak View, Saticoy.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
  4. 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 2,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 25 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 39 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 48 km WSW 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 34.4877, -119.0785. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 15 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ventura County
Los Angeles County, CA 82 km (51 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Santa Barbara County, CA 88 km (55 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Kern County, CA 101 km (63 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County
Orange County, CA 150 km (93 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 3km SSE of Frazier Park, CA
  2. 1.5 5km WNW of Frazier Park, CA
  3. 2.8 16km N of Santa Paula, CA
  4. 1.5 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  5. 2.2 16km N of Santa Paula, CA
  6. 1.7 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  7. 1.8 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  8. 1.6 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  9. 1.6 15km N of Santa Paula, CA
  10. 1.6 6km WSW of Valencia, CA
  11. 1.7 7km SSW of Castaic, CA
  12. 1.8 6km SSE of Santa Paula, CA
  13. 1.6 11km N of Piru, CA
  14. 2.6 3km SE of Piru, CA
  15. 1.9 6km W of Moorpark, 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.