QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Los Olivos, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Olivos in the 24 hours to 4:04 am PST (12:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 14 km (8 mi) NW, at 8:51 am PDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Los Olivos

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) northeast of Los Olivos, CA, at 12:04 pm PST on 13 December 2019 (20:04 UTC), 6.4 km deep.

USGS: 14km NE of Los Olivos, CA

43 km (27 mi) ESE of Santa Maria, CA · 111 km (69 mi) SW of Bakersfield, CA

12:04 pm PST, Dec 13, 2019 · · 6.4 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Olivos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 26 kmSan Luis Obispo County 80 kmVentura County 93 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
12:04 pm PST on 13 December 2019 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) northeast of Los Olivos, CA · earthquakes near Los Olivos
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 26 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Los Alamos fault, 15 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 2526 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Olivos, 14 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Santa Ynez, Solvang, Buellton, Los Alamos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 2017-05-17 — about 3,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 35 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 27 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 25 km SW 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 34.7655, -120.0185. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 26 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 80 km (49 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Ventura County, CA 93 km (58 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ventura County
Kern County, CA 134 km (83 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 25km NNE of Montecito, CA
  2. 1.6 25km NNE of Montecito, CA
  3. 1.7 25km NNE of Montecito, CA
  4. 1.6 9km N of Santa Barbara, CA
  5. 2.0 3km ENE of Vandenberg Village, CA
  6. 2.2 6km WSW of Isla Vista, CA
  7. 2.4 22km S of Solvang, CA
  8. 1.6 10km SSE of Orcutt, CA
  9. 1.5 10km SSE of Orcutt, CA
  10. 2.3 6km E of Vandenberg Village, CA
  11. 1.8 24km NNE of Montecito, CA
  12. 1.7 24km NNE of Montecito, CA
  13. 1.9 3km NW of Vandenberg Village, CA
  14. 1.7 14km NNW of Isla Vista, CA
  15. 2.0 6km NNW of Los Olivos, 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.