Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Oxnard, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oxnard in the 24 hours to 11:33 am PST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 44 km (27 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 Oxnard
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) south-southwest of Oxnard, CA, at 12:50 pm PDT on 12 October 2021 (19:50 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 24km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
88 km (54 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 38 km (24 mi) SSW of Oxnard, CA
- When
- 12:50 pm PDT on 12 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) south-southwest of Oxnard, CA · earthquakes near Oxnard
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 57 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Santa Cruz fault, 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 1790 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oxnard, CA
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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 49 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Oxnard, 39 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: Oxnard 39 km, intensity II · Ventura 45 km, intensity II · Camarillo 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 150,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,700× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.4× more
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 5.3 on 2018-04-05 — about 1,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 20 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 41 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 30 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 25 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 9km SSE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA · 15 km NW 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 33.8738, -119.3443. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 57 km (36 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 97 km (61 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 14km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 1.8 10km NW of Malibu, CA
- 1.5 9km NW of Malibu, CA
- 1.9 1km SSW of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.8 6km NNW of Ventura, CA
- 1.9 17km W of Malibu, CA
- 2.8 31km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA
- 1.6 5km WSW of Oxnard, CA
- 1.8 6km WSW of Malibu, CA
- 2.9 35km NW of Santa Barbara Is., CA
- 1.8 20km SSE of Port Hueneme, CA
- 2.5 19km SSE of Port Hueneme, CA
- 2.0 19km SSE of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.8 5km W of Malibu, CA
- 2.1 18km WNW of Malibu, 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.