Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Pacific Grove, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pacific Grove in the 24 hours to 10:21 pm PST (06:21 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Pacific Grove, CA, at 5:27 am PST on 12 December 2023 (13:27 UTC), 8.6 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km WNW of Pacific Grove, CA
76 km (47 mi) S of San Jose, CA · 29 km (18 mi) WSW of Salinas, CA
- When
- 5:27 am PST on 12 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Pacific Grove, CA · earthquakes near Pacific Grove
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 8.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 44 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 1048 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Pacific Grove, 3 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, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Seaside, Del Rey Oaks, Marina.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 9,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 46 km N of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 31 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 48 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Monterey Bay area, California · 24 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 36.6237, -121.9478. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Monterey County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | N | earthquakes near Alameda County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 6 km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.6 6 km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 3.2 6 km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.5 4 km WSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.6 4 km W of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.4 5 km SSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.6 13 km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.0 13 km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.8 5 km of Aromas, CA
- 1.5 2 km ESE of Aromas, CA
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.8 6 km SSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.7 4 km NNE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 15 km SSW of Bonny Doon, 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.