QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Solvang, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Solvang in the 24 hours to 10:41 am PST (18:41 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) N, at 9:54 am PDT on 23 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Solvang

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) south of Solvang, CA, at 2:29 pm PST on 12 November 2018 (22:29 UTC), 5.8 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 30km S of Solvang, CA

91 km (57 mi) W of Oxnard, CA · 44 km (27 mi) W of Santa Barbara, CA

2:29 pm PST, Nov 12, 2018 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Solvang Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 27 kmVentura County 97 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
2:29 pm PST on 12 November 2018 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) south of Solvang, CA · earthquakes near Solvang
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 27 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Pitas Point fault, 5 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 2922 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Solvang, 30 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 4.3 on 2017-10-26 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 36 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 30 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 The 1978 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 44 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 20km ENE of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA · 48 km ESE 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 34.3298, -120.1853. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 27 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 97 km (60 mi) E earthquakes near Ventura County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 120 km (75 mi) NNW 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. 2.5 22km SW of Lompoc, CA
  2. 3.3 13km W of Isla Vista, CA
  3. 2.1 5km SSE of Santa Ynez, CA
  4. 2.4 5km SSE of Santa Ynez, CA
  5. 3.9 6km SSE of Santa Ynez, CA
  6. 1.7 8km WSW of Isla Vista, CA
  7. 1.5 14km W of Isla Vista, CA
  8. 2.6 18km SSW of Lompoc, CA
  9. 1.7 20km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA
  10. 1.9 22km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
  11. 2.2 19km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
  12. 1.9 18km SSE of Isla Vista, CA
  13. 1.8 21km SSW of Santa Barbara, CA
  14. 1.9 19km SSW of Santa Barbara, CA
  15. 2.1 21km SSW of Lompoc, 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.