QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Piru, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Piru in the 24 hours to 6:05 am PST (14:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) E, at 8:32 am PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 16 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Piru

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Piru, CA, at 10:05 pm PDT on 19 March 2021 (05:05 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 12km NNE of Piru, CA

64 km (40 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA · 26 km (16 mi) WNW of Santa Clarita, CA

10:05 pm PDT, Mar 19, 2021 · · 15 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 39 kmLos Angeles County 58 kmKern County 92 kmSanta Barbara County 117 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
10:05 pm PDT on 19 March 2021 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Piru, CA · earthquakes near Piru
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ventura County, 39 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
San Gabriel 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 2061 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Piru, 12 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: Val Verde, Castaic, Valencia, Fillmore, Stevenson Ranch, Santa Clarita.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 4.2 on 2020-07-30 — about 4,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 40 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 37 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 37 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 34.5173, -118.7595. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ventura County
Los Angeles County, CA 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 92 km (57 mi) N earthquakes near Kern County
Santa Barbara County, CA 117 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Orange County, CA 130 km (81 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 8km NW of Fillmore, CA
  2. 3.6 8km WNW of Fillmore, CA
  3. 1.7 7km WNW of Lake Hughes, CA
  4. 1.9 8km SE of Neenach, CA
  5. 1.6 23km NNE of Ojai, CA
  6. 2.3 0km SSE of San Fernando, CA
  7. 2.2 3km S of Frazier Park, CA
  8. 1.6 3km WNW of Sylmar, CA
  9. 1.6 1km SE of Sylmar, CA
  10. 1.6 2km SSE of Chatsworth, CA
  11. 1.9 10km WSW of Grapevine, CA
  12. 2.5 8km NNW of Malibu, CA
  13. 1.6 3km N of Sylmar, CA
  14. 1.8 12km WSW of Lake Hughes, CA
  15. 1.8 12km WSW of Lake Hughes, 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.