QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Solvang, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Solvang in the 24 hours to 3:37 pm PST (23:37 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) N, at 9:54 am PDT on 23 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Solvang

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) south of Solvang, CA, at 9:15 am PDT on 3 June 2022 (16:15 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 21km S of Solvang, CA

42 km (26 mi) W of Santa Barbara, CA · 147 km (92 mi) SW of Bakersfield, CA

9:15 am PDT, Jun 3, 2022 · · 5.6 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 19 kmVentura County 95 kmSan Luis Obispo County 112 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
9:15 am PDT on 3 June 2022 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) south of Solvang, CA · earthquakes near Solvang
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
5.6 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 19 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Pitas Point fault, 4 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 1623 days ago

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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Solvang, 21 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: Buellton, Santa Ynez, Isla Vista, Los Olivos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 4.3 on 2017-10-26 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 22 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 The 1978 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 44 km ESE 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 34.4055, -120.1668. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 95 km (59 mi) E earthquakes near Ventura County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 112 km (70 mi) NNW 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. 2.5 5 km SSW of Los Alamos, CA
  2. 2.2 5 km SSW of Los Alamos, CA
  3. 2.2 23 km NW of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA
  4. 1.6 15 km WSW of Isla Vista, CA
  5. 1.8 15 km N of Goleta, CA
  6. 2.2 19 km SSW of Lompoc, CA
  7. 1.5 8 km ESE of Lompoc, CA
  8. 1.6 5 km SW of Isla Vista, CA
  9. 1.9 16 km W of Isla Vista, CA
  10. 1.5 13 km SE of Isla Vista, CA
  11. 2.0 18 km W of Isla Vista, CA
  12. 1.6 10 km NW of Los Olivos, CA
  13. 1.8 4 km SW of Solvang, CA
  14. 1.6 10 km NW of Los Olivos, CA
  15. 2.3 5 km WNW of Isla Vista, 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.