QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Vandenberg Village, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Vandenberg Village in the 24 hours to 4:31 am PST (12:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 19 km (12 mi) S, at 5:08 am PDT on 17 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vandenberg Village

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east of Vandenberg Village, CA, at 6:49 pm PDT on 24 April 2021 (01:49 UTC), 3.6 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6km E of Vandenberg Village, CA

26 km (16 mi) S of Santa Maria, CA

6:49 pm PDT, Apr 24, 2021 · · 3.6 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vandenberg Village Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 38 kmSan Luis Obispo County 76 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
6:49 pm PDT on 24 April 2021 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east of Vandenberg Village, CA · earthquakes near Vandenberg Village
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
3.6 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 38 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Los Alamos fault, 9 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 2022 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Vandenberg Village, 6 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: Lompoc 8 km, intensity II · Los Alamos 13 km, intensity II · Orcutt 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 4.3 on 2017-10-26 — about 1,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.9 The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake · 27 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 11 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 10 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 22 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 5 km SSW of Nipomo, California · 34 km NNW 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 34.7020, -120.4065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 38 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 76 km (47 mi) N earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Ventura County, CA 123 km (76 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 5 km SSW of Los Alamos, CA
  2. 2.2 19 km SSW of Lompoc, CA
  3. 1.5 8 km ESE of Lompoc, CA
  4. 2.0 17 km W of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
  5. 1.6 22 km SW of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
  6. 1.9 16 km W of Isla Vista, CA
  7. 2.0 18 km W of Isla Vista, CA
  8. 1.6 10 km NW of Los Olivos, CA
  9. 1.8 4 km SW of Solvang, CA
  10. 1.6 10 km NW of Los Olivos, CA
  11. 2.3 21 km S of Solvang, CA
  12. 1.6 8 km SE of Los Alamos, CA
  13. 1.7 10 km ENE of Los Olivos, CA
  14. 1.5 7 km NW of Los Olivos, CA
  15. 1.9 12 km W of Isla Vista, 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.