Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
62 km W of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
Yes. A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 62 km W of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, 73 km (45 mi) WSW of Santa Maria, CA, at 2:37 am PDT on 19 September 2025 (09:37 UTC), 23 km deep.
73 km (45 mi) WSW of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 23 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 102 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 412 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Vandenberg Space Force Base, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 100 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.9 The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake · 44 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 87 km W of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 77km WSW of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA · 18 km SW 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 34.6998, -121.1893. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | E | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
5 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 26 km W of Lompoc, CA
- 2.5 88 km SW of Los Osos, California
- 1.7 27 km WSW of Lompoc, CA
- 2.1 40 km SW of Baywood-Los Osos, CA
- 2.0 34 km WSW 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.