QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Earthquake near Santa Ynez, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Santa Ynez in the 24 hours to 8:09 am PST (16:09 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) NNW, at 9:54 am PDT on 23 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Santa Ynez

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Santa Ynez, CA, at 9:27 am PST on 20 November 2025 (17:27 UTC), 6.3 km deep.

USGS: 29 km ENE of Santa Ynez, CA

35 km (22 mi) N of Santa Barbara, CA · 148 km (92 mi) WNW of Los Angeles, CA

9:27 am PST, Nov 20, 2025 · · 6.3 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Santa Ynez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 30 kmVentura County 72 kmSan Luis Obispo County 96 kmKern County 119 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
9:27 am PST on 20 November 2025 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Santa Ynez, CA · earthquakes near Santa Ynez
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 30 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Santa Ynez fault, 19 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 357 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 Santa Ynez, 29 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 4.1 on 2017-05-17 — about 620 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 46 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Los Alamos, California · 47 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 Near Los Alamos, California · 40 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · 48 km SSE 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 34.7150, -119.7882. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 30 km (19 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 72 km (45 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ventura County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 96 km (60 mi) NW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Kern County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NE earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km SSE of Carpinteria, CA
  2. 1.5 6 km SE of Carpinteria, CA
  3. 2.1 14 km SSW of Santa Barbara, CA
  4. 3.2 24 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  5. 1.5 4 km WNW of Carpinteria, CA
  6. 1.7 18 km S of Maricopa, CA
  7. 2.5 7 km SE of Carpinteria, CA
  8. 2.2 9 km NNW of Los Olivos, CA
  9. 2.1 4 km WNW of Carpinteria, CA
  10. 2.0 25 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  11. 2.5 24 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  12. 2.8 7 km SE of Carpinteria, CA
  13. 1.8 5 km SE of Carpinteria, CA
  14. 2.9 6 km SE of Carpinteria, CA
  15. 2.2 12 km E of Carpinteria, 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.