Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
Earthquake near Simi Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Simi Valley in the 24 hours to 3:35 am PST (11:35 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 17 km (10 mi) E, at 9:45 am PST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 26 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Simi Valley
This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east of Simi Valley, CA, at 12:51 pm PST on 26 February 2021 (20:51 UTC), 11 km deep. 1,486 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km E of Simi Valley, CA
in Simi Valley, CA · 39 km (24 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 12:51 pm PST on 26 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) east of Simi Valley, CA · earthquakes near Simi Valley
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1,486 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 41 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Simi-Santa Rosa fault, 5 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 471 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Simi Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Simi Valley, CA. No account or email needed.
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 36 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Simi Valley, 7 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: Simi Valley 7 km, intensity III · Agoura 14 km, intensity III · Moorpark 16 km, intensity II · Thousand Oaks 16 km, intensity II · Piru 18 km, intensity II · Santa Clarita 20 km, intensity II · Valencia 21 km, intensity II · Camarillo 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 330,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 15,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,000 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 53 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 17 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 19 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 35 km ENE 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 34.2698, -118.7047. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 41 km (25 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | E | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Kern County, CA | 120 km (74 mi) | N | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 0km ENE of Lennox, CA
- 1.7 0km W of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km S of Inglewood, CA
- 1.8 2km ESE of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 1km ENE of Inglewood, CA
- 1.9 1km SW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.7 0km NW of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km SW of Inglewood, CA
- 2.0 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
- 2.0 1km E of Lennox, CA
- 1.8 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.5 1km NW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
- 2.3 1km ENE of Lennox, 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.