California earthquakes

M2.4 earthquake 17km SSE of Carpinteria, CA

A magnitude 2.4 earthquake struck 17km SSE of Carpinteria, CA on Sat, Aug 22, 1981, 7:21 AM PDT (14:21 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.7 23km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA. This one was a foreshock.

Carpinteria forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
2.4 (mc), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-08-22 14:21:28 UTC
Depth
5.1 km (3.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
34.251° N, 119.478° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 1.2 km horizontally, 31.6 km in depth
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
154°
Stations used
24

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 196 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 196.

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci521548. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:29 PM UTC.