QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Carpinteria, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Carpinteria in the 24 hours to 5:54 am PST (13:54 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 11 km (7 mi) E, at 1:23 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Carpinteria

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east of Carpinteria, CA, at 3:32 am PDT on 23 May 2022 (10:32 UTC), 13 km deep. 38 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 10km E of Carpinteria, CA

21 km (13 mi) NW of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA · 102 km (63 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA

3:32 am PDT, May 23, 2022 · · 13 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 26 kmSanta Barbara County 59 kmLos Angeles County 108 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
3:32 am PDT on 23 May 2022 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east of Carpinteria, CA · earthquakes near Carpinteria
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
38 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Ventura County, 26 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Mission Ridge fault system, under 1 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 1563 days ago

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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Carpinteria, 10 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.

Likely felt in: Carpinteria 10 km, intensity II · Ojai 16 km, intensity II · Ventura 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 4.1 on 2016-03-12 — about 140 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 38 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 50 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 46 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 13 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 17 km WSW 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 34.4102, -119.4113. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 26 km (16 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 59 km (37 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 108 km (67 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 121 km (75 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 144 km (90 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

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

  1. 1.9 18km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  2. 1.8 18km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  3. 2.2 19km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  4. 1.6 17km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  5. 1.5 17km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  6. 1.8 18km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  7. 1.6 18km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  8. 1.5 15km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
  9. 2.3 5km ESE of Ojai, CA
  10. 2.1 6km ENE of Ojai, CA
  11. 1.6 15km SSE of Santa Barbara, CA
  12. 1.6 13km NNE of Ojai, CA
  13. 2.0 3km ESE of Isla Vista, CA
  14. 1.8 2km WNW of Goleta, CA
  15. 1.5 4km WNW of Fillmore, 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.