Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Solvang, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Solvang in the 24 hours to 4:47 am PST (12:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) N, at 9:54 am PDT on 23 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Solvang
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) south-southeast of Solvang, CA, at 4:39 am PST on 12 February 2021 (12:39 UTC), 9.2 km deep.
USGS: 19km SSE of Solvang, CA
33 km (21 mi) W of Santa Barbara, CA · 139 km (86 mi) SW of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 4:39 am PST on 12 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) south-southeast of Solvang, CA · earthquakes near Solvang
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 12 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pitas Point 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 2099 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Solvang, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Solvang, 19 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: Isla Vista, Santa Ynez, Goleta, Buellton, Los Olivos.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 4,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 29 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 36 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 22 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1978 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 36 km ESE 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 34.4340, -120.0725. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 12 km (7 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Ventura County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | E | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 112 km (69 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 13km N of Goleta, CA
- 1.9 6km ENE of Lompoc, CA
- 1.7 12km NNE of Goleta, CA
- 1.9 12km NNE of Goleta, CA
- 1.6 16km S of Isla Vista, CA
- 1.8 23km NE of Santa Ynez, CA
- 2.7 21km SW of Isla Vista, CA
- 2.3 17km S of Santa Barbara, CA
- 1.7 14km N of Goleta, CA
- 2.1 21km S of Solvang, CA
- 1.8 5km NE of Lompoc, CA
- 1.9 13km SSW of Santa Barbara, CA
- 1.8 18km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA
- 2.4 18km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA
- 1.9 5km SE of Goleta, 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.