QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Lompoc, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lompoc in the 24 hours to 8:59 am PST (16:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 11 km (7 mi) SSW, at 6:34 am PDT on 26 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lompoc

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Lompoc, CA, at 11:02 pm PDT on 18 March 2020 (06:02 UTC), 1.6 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 20km SSW of Lompoc, CA

51 km (32 mi) SSW of Santa Maria, CA

11:02 pm PDT, Mar 18, 2020 · · 1.6 km deep · released about 280 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lompoc Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 48 kmSan Luis Obispo County 101 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
11:02 pm PDT on 18 March 2020 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Lompoc, CA · earthquakes near Lompoc
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
1.6 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 48 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Santa Ynez fault, 7 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 2350 days ago

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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Lompoc, 20 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: Lompoc 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 280 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 53,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 38,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 280 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 330 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.9 The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake · 26 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 34 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 35 km ENE 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 34.4808, -120.5537. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 48 km (30 mi) E earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 101 km (63 mi) N earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.0 9km NW of Los Alamos, CA
  2. 1.8 8km NNW of Los Olivos, CA
  3. 1.6 9km E of Los Alamos, CA
  4. 1.9 6km ENE of Vandenberg Village, CA
  5. 1.6 8km N of Los Alamos, CA
  6. 2.0 28km SSW of Lompoc, CA
  7. 1.8 8km WNW of Orcutt, CA
  8. 1.8 5km SSE of Los Alamos, CA
  9. 1.9 6km ENE of Lompoc, CA
  10. 1.9 28km WSW of Lompoc, CA
  11. 2.1 4km ESE of Orcutt, CA
  12. 2.1 21km S of Solvang, CA
  13. 1.8 5km NE of Lompoc, CA
  14. 2.0 7km ESE of Lompoc, CA
  15. 2.1 14km 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.