Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Orcutt, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Orcutt in the 24 hours to 8:50 pm PST (04:50 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) northeast of Orcutt, CA, at 5:22 am PDT on 24 April 2020 (12:22 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 289 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km NE of Orcutt, CA
7 km (4 mi) SE of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 5:22 am PDT on 24 April 2020 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) northeast of Orcutt, CA · earthquakes near Orcutt
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 289 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 51 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Los Alamos fault, 16 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 2392 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Orcutt, 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 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Orcutt, 4 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: Orcutt 4 km, intensity III · Los Alamos 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 130 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 83,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 10 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 23 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 37 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 5 km SSW of Nipomo, California · 16 km NW 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 34.8857, -120.4015. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Ventura County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Ventura 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.
- 1.8 8km NNW of Los Olivos, CA
- 1.6 9km E of Los Alamos, CA
- 1.9 6km ENE of Vandenberg Village, CA
- 2.0 1km N of Avila Beach, CA
- 1.5 24km ESE of Santa Margarita, CA
- 1.6 14km NE of Arroyo Grande, CA
- 1.8 22km NNE of Nipomo, CA
- 1.6 8km N of Los Alamos, CA
- 1.8 8km WNW of Orcutt, CA
- 1.8 5km SSE of Los Alamos, CA
- 1.5 4km E of San Luis Obispo, CA
- 1.9 6km ENE of Lompoc, CA
- 1.9 28km WSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.1 4km ESE of Orcutt, CA
- 1.8 5km NE 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.