QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Oxnard, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Oxnard in the 24 hours to 10:11 am PST (18:11 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) west of Oxnard, CA, at 4:16 am PST on 30 January 2023 (12:16 UTC), 8.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17km NNE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA

96 km (60 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 20 km (13 mi) WSW of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA

4:16 am PST, Jan 30, 2023 · · 8.4 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Oxnard Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 35 kmSanta Barbara County 68 kmLos Angeles County 109 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
4:16 am PST on 30 January 2023 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) west of Oxnard, CA · earthquakes near Oxnard
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Ventura County, 35 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Mid-Channel fault, 2 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 1380 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Oxnard, 25 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: Ventura, Channel Islands Beach, Port Hueneme, Carpinteria, El Rio, Oak View.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 5.3 on 2018-04-05 — about 350,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 36 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 20 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 37 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 21 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 42 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 34.1733, -119.4420. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 35 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 109 km (67 mi) E earthquakes near Los Angeles 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.

  1. 1.8 5 km SE of Ojai, CA
  2. 2.6 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  3. 1.7 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  4. 1.6 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  5. 1.7 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  6. 2.0 5 km SE of Ojai, CA
  7. 1.5 5 km SE of Ojai, CA
  8. 2.2 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  9. 1.7 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  10. 1.6 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  11. 1.5 5 km SSE of Ojai, CA
  12. 2.3 5 km SE of Ojai, CA
  13. 2.0 6 km SE of Ojai, CA
  14. 1.7 14 km SSW of Thousand Oaks, CA
  15. 2.0 14 km WNW of Ventura, 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.