The 2003 San Simeon earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 6.6 on the Central Coast of California, about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of San Simeon. It occurred at 11:15 PST (19:15 UTC) on December 22. The earthquake occurred probably on the Oceanic fault zone in the Santa Lucia Mountains. It was caused by thrust faulting and propagated southeast from the hypocenter for 12 miles (19 km). The most violent ground movement occurred within 50 miles of the epicenter, though the earthquake was felt as far away as Los Angeles.