QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Ventura, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ventura in the 24 hours to 11:24 am PST (19:24 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Ventura, CA, at 4:12 am PST on 9 November 2019 (12:12 UTC), 9.9 km deep.

USGS: 7km W of Ventura, CA

in San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA · 87 km (54 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA

4:12 am PST, Nov 9, 2019 · · 9.9 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ventura Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 18 kmSanta Barbara County 74 kmLos Angeles County 96 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
4:12 am PST on 9 November 2019 ()
Where
in Ventura, CA · earthquakes near Ventura
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
9.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ventura County, 18 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Ventura fault, 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 2558 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 4 km (2 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 II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 7,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 46 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 35 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 31 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 25 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 40 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 34.2725, -119.3002. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 74 km (46 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 96 km (60 mi) E earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 130 km (81 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern 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. 1.6 16km NE of Ojai, CA
  2. 1.7 20km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA
  3. 1.9 22km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
  4. 2.2 19km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
  5. 2.7 21km S of Port Hueneme, CA
  6. 1.9 18km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
  7. 1.8 21km SSW of Santa Barbara, CA
  8. 1.9 19km SSW of Santa Barbara, CA
  9. 1.9 6km W of Malibu, CA
  10. 1.6 7km W of Malibu, CA
  11. 1.7 9km WNW of Malibu, CA
  12. 2.5 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  13. 1.8 14km NNW of Santa Paula, CA
  14. 1.7 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  15. 1.9 21km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), 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.