Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6ml
Earthquake near Lompoc, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lompoc in the 24 hours to 5:47 am PST (13:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 11 km (7 mi) SSW, at 6:34 am PDT on 26 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lompoc
This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) southwest of Lompoc, CA, at 12:49 am PDT on 28 October 2024 (07:49 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 207 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km SW of Lompoc, CA
40 km (25 mi) S of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 12:49 am PDT on 28 October 2024 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) southwest of Lompoc, CA · earthquakes near Lompoc
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 207 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Santa Barbara County, 44 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Santa Ynez fault, 8 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 665 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lompoc, 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 72 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Lompoc, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Lompoc 9 km, intensity III · Los Alamos 29 km, intensity III · Orcutt 32 km, intensity II · Santa Ynez 40 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 4.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 39,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 4.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 9.1× 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 4.3 on 2017-10-26 — about 11 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.9 The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 27 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 24 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 29 km E of this epicentre
- 5.0 5 km SSW of Nipomo, California · 47 km N 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 34.5815, -120.5190. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 44 km (28 mi) | E | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.4 8 km NW of Los Alamos, CA
- 1.2 6 km SSW of Los Alamos, CA
- 1.0 12 km SE of Santa Ynez, CA
- 0.9 10 km E of Orcutt, CA
- 1.5 7 km SSE of Santa Ynez, CA
- 1.9 25 km SSW of Solvang, CA
- 2.3 11 km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 1.6 13 km S of Lompoc, CA
- 2.2 11 km S of Lompoc, CA
- 1.7 12 km S of Lompoc, CA
- 1.7 12 km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.5 12 km SSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.7 12 km S of Lompoc, CA
- 1.9 12 km S of Lompoc, CA
- 2.5 12 km SSW of Lompoc, 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.