QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Los Olivos, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Olivos in the 24 hours to 1:34 pm PST (21:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 14 km (8 mi) NW, at 8:51 am PDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Los Olivos

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) east-northeast of Los Olivos, CA, at 7:24 pm PST on 7 November 2019 (03:24 UTC), 1.8 km deep.

USGS: 22km ENE of Los Olivos, CA

42 km (26 mi) NNW of Santa Barbara, CA · 102 km (64 mi) SW of Bakersfield, CA

7:24 pm PST, Nov 7, 2019 · · 1.8 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Olivos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 28 kmVentura County 82 kmSan Luis Obispo County 87 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
7:24 pm PST on 7 November 2019 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) east-northeast of Los Olivos, CA · earthquakes near Los Olivos
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
1.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 28 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Los Alamos fault, 22 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 2561 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Olivos, 22 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: Santa Ynez, Solvang.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 2017-05-17 — about 2,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 47 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 38 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 33 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 46 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 34.7545, -119.8925. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 28 km (17 mi) SSW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 82 km (51 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ventura County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 87 km (54 mi) NW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Kern County, CA 125 km (77 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 10km SSE of Orcutt, CA
  2. 1.5 10km SSE of Orcutt, CA
  3. 1.8 9km S of Montecito, CA
  4. 2.3 6km E of Vandenberg Village, CA
  5. 1.8 24km NNE of Montecito, CA
  6. 1.7 24km NNE of Montecito, CA
  7. 1.7 14km NNW of Isla Vista, CA
  8. 2.0 6km NNW of Los Olivos, CA
  9. 1.9 7km NNW of Los Olivos, CA
  10. 1.8 11km ENE of Santa Maria, CA
  11. 1.6 19km SSE of Solvang, CA
  12. 1.5 18km SSE of Solvang, CA
  13. 1.9 12km W of Isla Vista, CA
  14. 1.6 10km NNE of Los Alamos, CA
  15. 3.3 13km W of Isla Vista, 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.