QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near Maricopa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricopa in the 24 hours to 9:33 am PST (17:33 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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Maricopa, CA, at 7:51 am PDT on 15 April 2026 (14:51 UTC), 8.8 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 24 km SW of Maricopa, CA

58 km (36 mi) N of Santa Barbara, CA · 148 km (92 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA

7:51 am PDT, Apr 15, 2026 · · 8.8 km deep · released about 1 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Barbara County 58 kmVentura County 76 kmKern County 92 kmSan Luis Obispo County 93 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
7:51 am PDT on 15 April 2026 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) southwest of Maricopa, CA · earthquakes near Maricopa
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
8.8 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Santa Barbara County, 58 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 11 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 133 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricopa, 24 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: Maricopa 24 km, intensity II · Taft 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× 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 4.6 on 2024-08-07 — about 120 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 · 48 km S 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 · 48 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 19km NW of Grapevine, CA · 48 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 34.9208, -119.6012. 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 76 km (47 mi) SE earthquakes near Ventura County
Kern County, CA 92 km (57 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 93 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

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

  1. 1.4 20 km NE of Maricopa, CA
  2. 1.3 25 km NNE of Montecito, CA
  3. 1.8 25 km NNE of Montecito, CA
  4. 1.9 25 km NNE of Montecito, CA
  5. 2.2 25 km NNE of Montecito, CA
  6. 1.0 26 km NNE of Montecito, CA
  7. 1.0 16 km SSW of Maricopa, CA
  8. 1.3 26 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  9. 1.4 25 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  10. 1.8 25 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  11. 1.8 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  12. 1.5 21 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  13. 1.1 21 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  14. 1.7 11 km N of Goleta, CA
  15. 1.2 27 km NNE of Montecito, 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.