Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Carpinteria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Carpinteria in the 24 hours to 12:22 pm PST (20:22 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 11 km (7 mi) E, at 1:23 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Carpinteria
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Carpinteria, CA, at 6:18 pm PDT on 12 July 2020 (01:18 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 78 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km ESE of Carpinteria, CA
22 km (14 mi) E of Santa Barbara, CA · 106 km (66 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 6:18 pm PDT on 12 July 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Carpinteria, CA · earthquakes near Carpinteria
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 78 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 31 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Red Mountain fault, under 1 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 1996 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carpinteria, 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 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Carpinteria, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Carpinteria 5 km, intensity III · Ventura 20 km, intensity II · Santa Barbara 21 km, intensity II · Ojai 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 65 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 31 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 42 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 14 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 10 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 35 km SSE 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 34.3792, -119.4747. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 31 km (20 mi) | E | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | E | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kern County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 143 km (89 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
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 12km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
- 1.9 12km W of Isla Vista, CA
- 1.7 10km SSE of Ojai, CA
- 1.5 6km W of Ojai, CA
- 1.7 15km NW of Fillmore, CA
- 2.0 4km WNW of Fillmore, CA
- 1.6 6km NE of Ventura, CA
- 3.3 13km W of Isla Vista, CA
- 1.5 7km WSW of Ojai, CA
- 2.0 15km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
- 1.7 9km ENE of Ventura, CA
- 1.5 6km WSW of Santa Paula, CA
- 2.1 6km WSW of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.8 5km W of Ojai, CA
- 1.9 5km WSW of Santa Paula, 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.