QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Maricopa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricopa in the 24 hours to 8:19 am PST (16:19 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 51 km (32 mi) ESE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Maricopa

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Maricopa, CA, at 11:04 pm PST on 23 February 2026 (07:04 UTC), 7.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 25 km SW of Maricopa, CA

57 km (36 mi) N of Santa Barbara, CA · 147 km (92 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA

11:04 pm PST, Feb 23, 2026 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 58 kmVentura County 75 kmKern County 93 kmSan Luis Obispo County 94 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
11:04 pm PST on 23 February 2026 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) southwest of Maricopa, CA · earthquakes near Maricopa
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 58 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 12 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 184 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricopa, 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: Taft Heights, South Taft, Taft.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 4.6 on 2024-08-07 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 49 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 47 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 50 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California · 47 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 19km NW of Grapevine, CA · 49 km ENE 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 34.9113, -119.6008. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Barbara County, CA 58 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 75 km (47 mi) SE earthquakes near Ventura County
Kern County, CA 93 km (58 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 94 km (58 mi) NW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 11 km N of Goleta, CA
  2. 1.2 27 km NNE of Montecito, CA
  3. 1.1 24 km SW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  4. 1.0 24 km SW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  5. 1.1 24 km SW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  6. 1.5 25 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  7. 1.0 14 km S of Maricopa, CA
  8. 1.2 19 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  9. 1.1 26 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  10. 1.3 16 km W of Taft, CA
  11. 1.0 17 km W of Taft, CA
  12. 1.3 14 km WSW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  13. 1.1 18 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  14. 2.0 20 km NW of Ojai, CA
  15. 1.7 28 km SW of Maricopa, 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.