Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Orcutt, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Orcutt in the 24 hours to 11:50 am PST (19:50 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 2:02 pm PDT on 18 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Orcutt
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Orcutt, CA, at 9:45 am PST on 23 December 2018 (17:45 UTC), 1.4 km deep.
USGS: 4km ESE of Orcutt, CA
10 km (6 mi) SSE of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 9:45 am PST on 23 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Orcutt, CA · earthquakes near Orcutt
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 48 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Los Alamos fault, 12 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 2869 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Orcutt, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Orcutt, CA. No account or email needed.
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 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Orcutt, 4 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: Orcutt 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.9 The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake · 34 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 6 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 19 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 33 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 5 km SSW of Nipomo, California · 19 km NNW 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 34.8512, -120.3915. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Ventura County, CA | 128 km (79 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 18km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 1.9 20km NE of Arroyo Grande, CA
- 2.1 21km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.7 6km NNE of Los Alamos, CA
- 1.8 9km NE of Los Alamos, CA
- 2.4 4km NE of Orcutt, CA
- 1.7 7km ENE of Los Olivos, CA
- 1.8 19km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.6 20km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 1.7 19km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 1.8 12km NNE of Los Olivos, CA
- 2.6 12km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.1 13km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 1.6 13km NNE of Los Alamos, CA
- 2.0 13km 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
- 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.