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New Zealand

M3.1 Earthquake near NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2025-12-21 20:01:31 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On December 21, 2025 at 20:01 UTC, a magnitude M3.1 earthquake occurred near NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND (New Zealand). At around 152 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Earthquakes of this magnitude are often felt but rarely cause damage.

The event was recorded by EMSC. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 3 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.0.

Details

ID
61e9ff225954f17e8f9fbd9a6bc9c5cbda0256b5
Magnitude
M3.1
Depth
151.9 km
UTC time
2025-12-21 20:01:31 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
City
Bay of Plenty
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-38.03990, 176.44360
Temperature
14.1°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 151.9 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 151.9 km
Intermediate
151.9 km
151.9 km — deeper than the regional average (70.9 km)
Regional average: 70.9 km
Why depth matters

Intermediate-depth quakes are felt across a wider area but usually cause less surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Okataina
    Distance: 14 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 86 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand
  • Whakaari/White Island
    Distance: 87 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 294 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 95 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 143 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 157 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Rotorua Regional AirportNew Zealand · ROT · NZRO
    13.5 kmStraight-line distance
  • Whakatāne AirportNew Zealand · WHK · NZWK
    43.5 kmStraight-line distance
  • Tauranga AirportNew Zealand · TRG · NZTG
    46.3 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Bay of Plenty

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 115 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · New Zealand

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · New Zealand

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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