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, 31 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Merced, the biggest of them M3.0. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Merced came at 1.2× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Merced — records go back to 1980 — was the M5.5 of Jan 26, 1986, 19:20 UTC: 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California.
How we figure this: 9 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 7.7 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 Merced
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.6 | 1 km NW of Forest Meadows, California | Nov 03, 2026, 01:09 AM | 0 km | 98 km N |
| M2.3 | 27 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 01:09 AM | 2 km | 87 km W |
| M1.9 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 05:26 PM | 3 km | 87 km W |
| M1.9 | 27 km SSW of Los Banos, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 10:43 AM | 3 km | 66 km SW |
| M1.4 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 04:07 AM | 5 km | 87 km W |
| M2.2 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:44 AM | 3 km | 87 km W |
| M1.2 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:41 AM | 5 km | 87 km W |
| M1.0 | 10 km ESE of Gilroy, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 11:58 PM | 4 km | 93 km WSW |
| M2.2 | 15 km N of Pinnacles, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 11:30 PM | 3 km | 91 km SW |
| M1.1 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 09:52 PM | 5 km | 87 km W |
Earthquakes per year near Merced (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 Merced
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 209 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Merced (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5.5 | 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California | Jan 26, 1986, 19:20 UTC | 90 km |
| M5.1 | 1 km NE of Tres Pinos, California | Feb 20, 1988, 08:39 UTC | 93 km |
| M4.9 | 9 km E of Gilroy, California | Jan 16, 1993, 06:29 UTC | 92 km |
| M4.6 | 31 km NE of Soledad, California | Nov 28, 1985, 15:13 UTC | 94 km |
| M4.5 | 15 km SW of Westley, CA | Sep 19, 2023, 04:13 UTC | 73 km |
| M4.5 | 28 km SW of South Dos Palos, California | Jan 06, 1988, 22:49 UTC | 68 km |
| M4.4 | 40 km SSW of South Dos Palos, California | Sep 28, 2014, 20:45 UTC | 81 km |
| M4.4 | 1km NNW of Tres Pinos, CA | Apr 04, 2023, 22:23 UTC | 93 km |
Nearby places
Atwater, CA (12 km) · Planada, CA (15 km) · Winton, CA (15 km) · Turlock, CA (39 km) · Los Banos, CA (42 km) · Chowchilla, CA (28 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.