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United States · California

M1.2 Earthquake near Santa Barbara County, California (United States)

UTC time: 2026-10-17 11:54:52 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M1.2
Depth
2.9 km
Source
USGS

California · Santa Barbara County

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.2 earthquake was recorded near Santa Barbara County, California (United States) on October 17, 2026 at 11:54 UTC. With a focal depth of about 3 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: 135 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.9.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 2.9 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 2.9 km
Shallow
2.9 km
2.9 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: 346 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 3'369 m ·Last eruption: 1260 ·United States
  • Mono-Inyo Craters
    Distance: 364 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 2'796 m ·Last eruption: 1380 ·United States
  • Ubehebe Craters
    Distance: 365 km ·Maar(s) ·Elevation: 752 m ·Last eruption: -150 ·United States
  • Mono Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 385 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 2'121 m ·Last eruption: 1790 ·United States
  • Salton Buttes
    Distance: 464 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
    26.0 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

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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