QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Ojai, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ojai in the 24 hours to 5:18 am PST (13:18 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 7 km (5 mi) S, at 2:56 am PST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ojai

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) northeast of Ojai, CA, at 2:09 pm PDT on 15 October 2023 (21:09 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 16 km NE of Ojai, CA

90 km (56 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA · 35 km (21 mi) NNE of San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA

2:09 pm PDT, Oct 15, 2023 · · 4.1 km deep · released about 250 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ventura County 23 kmSanta Barbara County 83 kmLos Angeles County 90 kmKern County 95 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
2:09 pm PDT on 15 October 2023 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) northeast of Ojai, CA · earthquakes near Ojai
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
4.1 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Ventura County, 23 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Santa Ynez fault, 3 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 1052 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Ojai, 16 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: Ojai 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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 5.1 on 2023-08-20 — about 5,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 43 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 46 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 20 km NE 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 34.5628, -119.1348. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ventura County, CA 23 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 83 km (51 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Los Angeles County, CA 90 km (56 mi) ESE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Kern County, CA 95 km (59 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 16 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  2. 1.7 12 km W of Grapevine, CA
  3. 1.5 6 km NE of Ojai, CA
  4. 1.6 7 km SE of Ojai, CA
  5. 1.7 19 km NE of Ojai, CA
  6. 2.0 11 km ENE of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  7. 2.0 7 km E of Port Hueneme, CA
  8. 2.0 4 km N of Frazier Park, CA
  9. 1.5 5 km W of Ojai, CA
  10. 1.9 12 km ESE of Carpinteria, CA
  11. 1.6 14 km N of Fillmore, CA
  12. 1.9 15 km N of Fillmore, CA
  13. 1.6 8 km E of Lebec, CA
  14. 2.0 2 km S of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  15. 1.7 2 km NNW of Frazier Park, 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.