Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Pacific Grove, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pacific Grove in the 24 hours to 1:53 pm PST (21:53 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 66 km (41 mi) E, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 34 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pacific Grove
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) northwest of Pacific Grove, CA, at 12:18 am PST on 23 February 2023 (08:18 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 6km NW of Pacific Grove, CA
72 km (45 mi) S of San Jose, CA · 29 km (18 mi) W of Salinas, CA
- When
- 12:18 am PST on 23 February 2023 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) northwest of Pacific Grove, CA · earthquakes near Pacific Grove
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 39 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Monterey Bay- Tularcitos fault, 2 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1354 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pacific Grove, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Pacific Grove, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Pacific Grove, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Del Monte Forest, Monterey, Seaside, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Marina.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2021-01-17 — about 4,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 42 km N of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 27 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 45 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 40 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Monterey Bay area, California · 20 km NW of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 36.6593, -121.9592. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 39 km (25 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Monterey County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | N | earthquakes near Alameda County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 6 km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.6 7 km ESE of Prunedale, CA
- 1.9 1 km ENE of Aromas, CA
- 1.5 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.8 3 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 5 km NNW of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 8km ESE of Prunedale, CA
- 1.6 6km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.9 6km SW of Hollister, CA
- 1.6 7km WSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.5 6km SW of Hollister, CA
- 1.5 2km E of Aromas, CA
- 2.6 7km WSW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.6 6km SSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.9 5km NNW of Day Valley, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.