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United States · California

M1.8 Earthquake near Santa Barbara County, California (United States)

UTC time: 2026-08-20 20:12:11 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M1.8
Depth
5.6 km
Source
USGS

California · Santa Barbara County

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About this earthquake

On August 20, 2026 at 20:12 UTC, a magnitude M1.8 earthquake occurred near Santa Barbara County, California (United States). With a focal depth of about 6 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this small magnitude are usually barely noticeable and cause no damage.

The event was recorded by USGS. United States: 185 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M4.1.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 5.6 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 5.6 km
Shallow
5.6 km
5.6 km — shallower than the regional average (15.2 km)
Regional average: 15.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Mammoth Mountain
    Distance: 368 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 3'369 m ·Last eruption: 1260 ·United States
  • Mono-Inyo Craters
    Distance: 386 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 2'796 m ·Last eruption: 1380 ·United States
  • Ubehebe Craters
    Distance: 389 km ·Maar(s) ·Elevation: 752 m ·Last eruption: -150 ·United States
  • Mono Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 406 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 2'121 m ·Last eruption: 1790 ·United States
  • Salton Buttes
    Distance: 474 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: -40 m ·Last eruption: 210 ·United States

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Santa Maria Public Airport Captain G Allan Hancock FieldUnited States · SMX · KSMX
    39.7 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-11-15

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

California

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 2,447 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · United States

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Country statistics · United States

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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