Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Ojai, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ojai in the 24 hours to 7:56 am PST (15:56 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 7 km (5 mi) S, at 2:56 am PST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ojai
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) northeast of Ojai, CA, at 7:18 am PST on 5 December 2018 (15:18 UTC), 12 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12km NE of Ojai, CA
87 km (54 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA · 30 km (19 mi) NNE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA
- When
- 7:18 am PST on 5 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 12 km (8 mi) northeast of Ojai, CA · earthquakes near Ojai
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 18 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Santa Ynez 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 2896 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ojai, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Ojai, 12 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.
Likely felt in: Ojai 12 km, intensity II · Santa Paula 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 380 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 40,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 29,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 380 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 130 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 46 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 24 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 33 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 44 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 34.5197, -119.1432. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 18 km (11 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kern County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 153 km (95 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo 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.
- 1.5 9km W of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.5 12km NNE of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 3km SW of Lebec, CA
- 2.1 11km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.2 9km SW of Castaic, CA
- 1.9 21km SSW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.6 6km WSW of Ojai, CA
- 1.5 19km NE of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 7km N of Moorpark, CA
- 2.2 13km NNW of Fillmore, CA
- 1.7 9km SE of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.5 3km NW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.5 8km E of Lebec, CA
- 2.0 12km NE of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.6 15km N of Fillmore, 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.