Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Ventura, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ventura in the 24 hours to 5:10 am PST (13:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 50 km (31 mi) ENE, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ventura
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded in Ventura, CA, at 11:56 am PST on 8 November 2019 (19:56 UTC), 11 km deep. 75 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km W of Ventura, CA
in San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA · 84 km (52 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 11:56 am PST on 8 November 2019 ()
- Where
- in Ventura, CA · earthquakes near Ventura
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 75 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 17 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Ventura fault, 2 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 759 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ventura, CA
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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 27 km (17 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: Ventura in town, intensity III · Oxnard 12 km, intensity II · Ojai 20 km, intensity II · Santa Paula 22 km, intensity II · Camarillo 23 km, intensity II · Carpinteria 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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 86 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 48 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 38 km SSE 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 34.2677, -119.2777. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 17 km (10 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | E | earthquakes near Los Angeles 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 6km W of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 7km W of Malibu, CA
- 1.7 9km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.5 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 1.8 14km NNW of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.7 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 1.9 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 2.3 20km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 2.1 12km NE of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.5 10km NW of Malibu, CA
- 2.4 22km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 2.0 28km SSW of Port Hueneme, CA
- 2.2 20km S of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.6 13km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
- 2.4 8km WSW of Westlake Village, 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.