California earthquakes

M1.6 earthquake 18km SSE of Malibu, CA

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 18km SSE of Malibu, CA on Tue, Aug 18, 1981, 6:16 AM PDT (13:16 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA. This one was a foreshock.

Malibu 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
1.6 (Mh), micro
Magnitude from
Southern California Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
1981-08-18 13:16:07 UTC
Depth
5.4 km (3.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
33.848° N, 118.757° 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 2.5 km horizontally, 22.1 km in depth
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
142°
Stations used
6

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 195 in the 60 days after this one and 48 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 1.515km SW of Carpinteria, CA · 16482 days ago · 5 km deep · 94 km away
  2. 2.041km NNW of San Nicolas Is., CA · 16481 days ago · 5 km deep · 90 km away
  3. 2.417km SSE of Carpinteria, CA · 16479 days ago · 5 km deep · 80 km away
  4. 2.019km S of Carpinteria, CA · 16479 days ago · 5 km deep · 84 km away
  5. 2.717km SSE of Carpinteria, CA · 16479 days ago · 5 km deep · 80 km away
  6. 2.520km S of Carpinteria, CA · 16479 days ago · 10 km deep · 80 km away
  7. 2.44km WSW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16479 days ago · 6 km deep · 55 km away
  8. 2.310km ESE of Santa Clarita, CA · 16476 days ago · 8 km deep · 69 km away
  9. 1.911km NNE of Lake View Terrace, CA · 16476 days ago · 4 km deep · 71 km away
  10. 2.030km S of Malibu, CA · 16475 days ago · 5 km deep · 14 km away
  11. 1.95km NW of Burbank, CA · 16473 days ago · 11 km deep · 56 km away
  12. 2.09km W of El Segundo, CA · 16473 days ago · 6 km deep · 23 km away
  13. 2.67km ENE of Santa Clarita, CA · 16472 days ago · 9 km deep · 72 km away
  14. 1.88km NW of Vincent, CA · 16468 days ago · 3 km deep · 93 km away
  15. 2.08km NW of Vincent, CA · 16468 days ago · 3 km deep · 94 km away
  16. 5.511km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 47 km away
  17. 3.419km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 37 km away
  18. 1.922km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  19. 2.023km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 31 km away
  20. 2.220km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 36 km away
  21. 2.018km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 34 km away
  22. 1.621km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 39 km away
  23. 2.122km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
  24. 1.728km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
  25. 1.722km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 34 km away
  26. 2.023km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 30 km away
  27. 1.620km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 31 km away
  28. 1.927km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
  29. 2.220km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
  30. 2.122km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 35 km away
  31. 1.719km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
  32. 3.011km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 40 km away
  33. 1.622km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 29 km away
  34. 2.913km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 39 km away
  35. 2.019km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 34 km away
  36. 1.720km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 35 km away
  37. 1.521km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 34 km away
  38. 2.220km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 35 km away
  39. 2.118km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  40. 1.825km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 39 km away
  41. 2.420km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 40 km away
  42. 2.319km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 38 km away
  43. 2.222km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 38 km away
  44. 1.56km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 16466 days ago · 8 km deep · 16 km away
  45. 2.619km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 38 km away
  46. 1.523km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 34 km away
  47. 2.217km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
  48. 2.120km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  49. 1.715km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 35 km away
  50. 1.820km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  51. 2.017km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 37 km away
  52. 2.821km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 40 km away
  53. 2.624km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 38 km away
  54. 1.920km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 33 km away
  55. 1.621km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 32 km away
  56. 1.824km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
  57. 2.417km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 6 km deep · 37 km away
  58. 1.618km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 33 km away
  59. 2.022km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 5 km deep · 31 km away
  60. 3.716km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 16466 days ago · 8 km deep · 46 km away

The first 60 of 195.

Before

  1. 3.124km SSE of Malibu, CA · 16483 days ago · 0 km deep · 6 km away
  2. 1.920km SSE of San Pedro, CA · 16485 days ago · -1 km deep · 59 km away
  3. 1.916km SSE of San Pedro, CA · 16486 days ago · 6 km deep · 56 km away
  4. 1.717km WNW of Malibu, CA · 16486 days ago · 6 km deep · 30 km away
  5. 2.320km S of Port Hueneme, CA · 16486 days ago · 0 km deep · 45 km away
  6. 3.110km SW of Santa Monica, CA · 16488 days ago · 5 km deep · 21 km away
  7. 2.112km SSW of Newport Beach, CA · 16488 days ago · 6 km deep · 81 km away
  8. 2.54km NNW of Topanga, CA · 16489 days ago · 4 km deep · 33 km away
  9. 1.51km SW of Bell, CA · 16489 days ago · 4 km deep · 54 km away
  10. 1.52km SSE of La Palma, CA · 16490 days ago · 5 km deep · 66 km away
  11. 1.78km ESE of Santa Clarita, CA · 16493 days ago · 7 km deep · 66 km away
  12. 1.615km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 16495 days ago · 14 km deep · 8 km away
  13. 2.228km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA · 16496 days ago · 1 km deep · 48 km away
  14. 1.824km SSE of Malibu, CA · 16497 days ago · 0 km deep · 6 km away
  15. 1.512km WSW of Ojai, CA · 16498 days ago · 14 km deep · 85 km away
  16. 1.618km S of Port Hueneme, CA · 16498 days ago · 0 km deep · 45 km away
  17. 1.816km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA · 16499 days ago · 5 km deep · 11 km away
  18. 2.025km SSE of Malibu, CA · 16499 days ago · 5 km deep · 6 km away
  19. 2.326km SSE of Malibu, CA · 16499 days ago · 0 km deep · 8 km away
  20. 2.524km SSE of Malibu, CA · 16500 days ago · 0 km deep · 7 km away

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci521409. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:44 PM UTC.