The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 52 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the biggest of them M3.0. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Carmel-by-the-Sea came at 0.9× the usual pace — quieter than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Carmel-by-the-Sea — records go back to 1980 — was the M6.9 of Oct 18, 1989, 00:04 UTC: The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake.
How we figure this: 23 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 24.7 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Latest earthquakes near Carmel-by-the-Sea
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.9 | 27 km SSW of Los Banos, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 10:43 AM | 3 km | 93 km ENE |
| M1.0 | 10 km ESE of Gilroy, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 11:58 PM | 4 km | 63 km NE |
| M2.2 | 15 km N of Pinnacles, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 11:30 PM | 3 km | 71 km E |
| M1.5 | 10 km SSW of San Lucas, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 08:25 PM | 5 km | 97 km SE |
| M1.0 | 9 km ESE of Gilroy, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 07:29 PM | 6 km | 63 km NE |
| M2.5 | 9 km E of Gilroy, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 07:27 PM | 6 km | 64 km NE |
| M1.8 | 10 km SSW of San Lucas, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 06:52 PM | 7 km | 98 km SE |
| M1.6 | 4 km ENE of Pinnacles, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 02:55 PM | 5 km | 73 km E |
| M1.7 | 15 km S of Tres Pinos, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 11:55 PM | 4 km | 56 km E |
| M0.9 | 7 km NE of Prunedale, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 04:06 PM | 8 km | 40 km NE |
Earthquakes per year near Carmel-by-the-Sea (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Carmel-by-the-Sea
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 618 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Carmel-by-the-Sea (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M6.9 | The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake | Oct 18, 1989, 00:04 UTC | 54 km |
| M6.2 | The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake | Apr 24, 1984, 21:15 UTC | 87 km |
| M5.5 | 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California | Jan 26, 1986, 19:20 UTC | 63 km |
| M5.5 | 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California | Oct 31, 2007, 03:04 UTC | 99 km |
| M5.4 | 5 km NNW of Aromas, California | Apr 18, 1990, 13:53 UTC | 48 km |
| M5.4 | 4 km ESE of Lexington Hills, California | Aug 08, 1989, 08:13 UTC | 66 km |
| M5.3 | 8 km ESE of Lexington Hills, California | Jun 27, 1988, 18:43 UTC | 64 km |
| M5.3 | 6 km E of East Foothills, California | Jun 13, 1988, 01:45 UTC | 95 km |
Nearby places
Del Monte Forest, CA (4 km) · Monterey, CA (6 km) · Pacific Grove, CA (7 km) · Salinas, CA (28 km) · Santa Cruz, CA (48 km) · Watsonville, CA (42 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 19:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 19:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.