M1.7 earthquake 8 km WSW of Santa Barbara, California, United States
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 8 km WSW of Santa Barbara, California, United States at 08:42 local time (15:42 UTC) on 5 Oct 2026, at a depth of 6 km, according to USGS.
revised from M1.9 · 1 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-05 16:30 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 1.7micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
revised from 1.9 - Depth
- 6.1 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-05 15:42:14 UTC
- Local: 5 Oct 2026, 08:42:14 (America/Los Angeles)
- Epicentre
- 34.385° N, 119.773° W
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Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| Santa BarbaraCalifornia, United States · pop. 91,842 | 8 km | INot felt |
| GoletaCalifornia, United States · pop. 30,944 | 8 km | INot felt |
| Isla VistaCalifornia, United States · pop. 23,096 | 8 km | INot felt |
| VenturaCalifornia, United States · pop. 96,769 | 46 km | INot felt |
| BakersfieldCalifornia, United States · pop. 373,640 | 129 km | INot felt |
| Los AngelesCalifornia, United States · pop. 3,820,914 | 146 km | INot felt |
| Long BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 474,140 | 161 km | INot felt |
| AnaheimCalifornia, United States · pop. 350,742 | 182 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · CI, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · CIheadlineSouthern California Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey | 1.7 mlwas 1.6 | 6.1 km | 34.38° N, 119.77° W | – | Reviewed · 2 revisions |
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How big was it?
Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.
It released roughly the energy of 5 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 6 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M1.7 releases about 9.8× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 4.6× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 5 kg of TNT vs 477 g of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M1.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 30 km so far. 3 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
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Event id ci41343567. First recorded here 5 Oct 2026, 15:45:14 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41343567). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.7 earthquake 8 km WSW of Santa Barbara, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41343567-m1-7-earthquake-8-km-wsw-of-santa-barbara-california-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41343567. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.