Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Montecito, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Montecito in the 24 hours to 1:19 pm PST (21:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 14 km (9 mi) WSW, at 8:40 am PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 59 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Montecito
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) north-northeast of Montecito, CA, at 4:16 am PDT on 6 September 2023 (11:16 UTC), 10 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 28 km NNE of Montecito, CA
34 km (21 mi) NNE of Santa Barbara, CA · 127 km (79 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:16 am PDT on 6 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 28 km (17 mi) north-northeast of Montecito, CA · earthquakes near Montecito
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 48 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Santa Ynez fault, 21 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 1157 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Montecito, CA
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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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Montecito, 28 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Toro Canyon, Summerland, Mission Canyon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.4 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 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× 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 8.4 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 150,000 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 · 48 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 49 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 20 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 39 km S of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1978 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 43 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 34.6750, -119.5373. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Ventura County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kern County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 129 km (80 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 2 km E of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.1 14 km E of Maricopa, CA
- 2.2 24 km SSW of Frazier Park, CA
- 2.0 6 km E of Ojai, CA
- 1.6 11 km E of Carpinteria, CA
- 1.5 13 km N of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.7 9 km ENE of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.7 16 km ESE of Maricopa, CA
- 2.3 5 km WNW of Isla Vista, CA
- 1.6 12 km W 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
- 2.4 13 km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
- 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
- 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.