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, 43 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Arcata, the biggest of them M3.4. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Arcata came at 0.8× the usual pace — quieter than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Arcata — records go back to 1980 — was the M7.2 of Apr 25, 1992, 18:06 UTC: The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake.
How we figure this: 32 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 37.7 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 Arcata
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.5 | 4 km WSW of Petrolia, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 08:24 PM | 15 km | 66 km SSW |
| M2.7 | 63 km W of Petrolia, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 04:21 PM | -0 km | 99 km SW |
| M2.2 | 35 km WSW of Petrolia, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 08:59 AM | 7 km | 85 km SW |
| M2.9 | 29 km W of Petrolia, CA | Oct 30, 2026, 06:56 AM | 13 km | 78 km SW |
| M1.9 | 32 km W of Petrolia, CA | Oct 29, 2026, 01:43 PM | 5 km | 81 km SW |
| M1.8 | 14 km W of Bayview, CA | Oct 28, 2026, 08:11 AM | 20 km | 24 km WSW |
| M1.7 | 15 km W of Petrolia, CA | Oct 26, 2026, 10:12 PM | 19 km | 70 km SSW |
| M2.0 | 19 km SSE of Blue Lake, CA | Oct 25, 2026, 07:38 PM | 23 km | 23 km SE |
| M2.1 | 34 km W of Petrolia, CA | Oct 24, 2026, 10:49 PM | 20 km | 80 km SW |
| M1.9 | 5 km SSW of Humboldt Hill, CA | Oct 24, 2026, 05:23 PM | 5 km | 23 km SSW |
Earthquakes per year near Arcata (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 Arcata
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 477 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Arcata (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M7.2 | The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake | Apr 25, 1992, 18:06 UTC | 60 km |
| M7.2 | The 1980 Eureka, California Earthquake | Nov 08, 1980, 10:27 UTC | 31 km |
| M7.0 | 2024 Offshore Cape Mendocino, California Earthquake | Dec 05, 2024, 18:44 UTC | 96 km |
| M6.8 | 77 km WNW of Indianola, California | Mar 10, 2014, 05:18 UTC | 89 km |
| M6.6 | 32 km SW of Ferndale, California | Apr 26, 1992, 11:18 UTC | 67 km |
| M6.5 | The 2010 Eureka, California Earthquake | Jan 10, 2010, 00:27 UTC | 57 km |
| M6.5 | 30 km WSW of Ferndale, California | Apr 26, 1992, 07:41 UTC | 63 km |
| M6.4 | 15km WSW of Ferndale, CA | Dec 20, 2022, 10:34 UTC | 48 km |
Nearby places
Bayside, CA (3 km) · McKinleyville, CA (9 km) · Myrtletown, CA (10 km) · Eureka, CA (10 km) · Fortuna, CA (30 km) · Humboldt Hill, CA (18 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 15:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 16:01 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.