February 21, 1973 Earthquake: Oxnard, California, United States
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Oxnard, California, United States on February 21, 1973 at 14:45:57 UTC, 8 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- February 21, 1973
- Time
- 14:45:57 UTC
- Place
- Oxnard, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 8 km (5 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.100° N, 119.000° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Damage
- $1 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 11, 1933, Long Beach, California, United States
- February 9, 1971, San Fernando, California, United States
- January 17, 1994, Northridge, California, United States
- December 8, 1812, San Juan Capistrano, California, United States
- June 29, 1925, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- July 21, 1952, Kern County, California, United States
- October 1, 1987, Whittier, California, United States
- December 25, 1899, California, United States
- June 28, 1991, Arcadia, Glendale, Los Angeles, California, United States
- August 22, 1952, Kern County, California, United States
- August 31, 1930, Southern, California, United States
- October 4, 1987, Whittier, Pasadena, California, United States
- December 21, 1812, Purisima, California, United States
- April 21, 1918, San Jacinto, Hemet, California, United States
- August 10, 1879, San Fernando, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1973The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1973Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4626.