QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Ventura, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ventura in the 24 hours to 4:18 am PST (12:18 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 50 km (31 mi) ENE, at 8:00 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 199 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ventura

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) northeast of Ventura, CA, at 11:49 am PDT on 25 August 2023 (18:49 UTC), 12 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Ventura, CA

11 km (7 mi) NE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA · 80 km (50 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA

11:49 am PDT, Aug 25, 2023 · · 12 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 5 kmSanta Barbara County 81 kmLos Angeles County 86 kmKern County 118 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
11:49 am PDT on 25 August 2023 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) northeast of Ventura, CA · earthquakes near Ventura
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Ventura County, 5 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Ventura fault, 8 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 1172 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 Ventura, 13 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: Saticoy, Santa Paula, Oak View, Ojai, El Rio, Mira Monte.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.3 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 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 130,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 45 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 49 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 35 km W 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 34.3517, -119.1833. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 5 km (3 mi) E earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 81 km (50 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 86 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 118 km (73 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 163 km (101 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

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

  1. 1.6 11 km E of Carpinteria, CA
  2. 1.5 14 km N of Santa Paula, CA
  3. 1.5 13 km N of Santa Paula, CA
  4. 1.8 18 km S of Port Hueneme, CA
  5. 2.3 8 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  6. 1.6 12 km W of Ventura, CA
  7. 2.3 12 km WSW of Ventura, CA
  8. 1.6 12 km W of Ventura, CA
  9. 2.0 7 km NE of Carpinteria, CA
  10. 1.6 15 km ENE of Ojai, CA
  11. 1.6 6 km NNE of Santa Paula, CA
  12. 1.8 14 km W of Malibu, CA
  13. 1.8 6 km W of Simi Valley, CA
  14. 2.4 13 km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
  15. 2.2 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.