Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Ojai, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ojai in the 24 hours to 5:24 am PST (13:24 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 7 km (5 mi) S, at 2:56 am PST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ojai
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Ojai, CA, at 5:45 pm PDT on 23 August 2023 (00:45 UTC), 1.8 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km ESE of Ojai, CA
83 km (52 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA · 20 km (12 mi) NNE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA
- When
- 5:45 pm PDT on 23 August 2023 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Ojai, CA · earthquakes near Ojai
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 13 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 8 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mission Ridge fault system, 2 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 1111 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ojai, 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Ojai, 8 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: Ojai 8 km, intensity III · Santa Paula 13 km, intensity III · Ventura 21 km, intensity II · Oxnard 26 km, intensity II · Camarillo 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 450 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 34,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 24,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 450 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 5.1 on 2023-08-20 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 44 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 32 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 38 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 39 km SSW 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 34.4302, -119.1637. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 8 km (5 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kern County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 158 km (98 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.
- 1.6 12 km W of Ventura, CA
- 2.3 12 km WSW of Ventura, CA
- 1.6 12 km W of Ventura, CA
- 2.0 7 km NE of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.6 15 km ENE of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 6 km NNE of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.8 14 km W of Malibu, CA
- 1.8 6 km W of Simi Valley, CA
- 2.4 13 km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
- 2.2 8 km ESE of Ojai, CA
- 2.5 10 km NW of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 9 km E of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.5 22 km NNE of Ojai, CA
- 2.9 8 km ESE of Ojai, CA
- 1.9 8 km ESE of Ojai, 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.