Bay of Plenty, New Zealand – Earthquakes

This page summarizes earthquakes in Bay of Plenty (New Zealand). The most recently recorded event was a magnitude M3.8 earthquake near Whakatāne District on 2026-09-17 08:00:08 UTC. All event lists and map markers are limited to the last 30 days.

Seismic profile ↓
Earthquakes (last 30 days)
14
Max magnitude (last 30 days)
M4.3
Avg magnitude (last 30 days)
M3.36
Avg depth (last 30 days)
166 km

Seismic profile

Analysis period20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026Data as of: 20 Sep 2026 · 15:00 UTC
Minimum magnitude

What the data show

Bay of Plenty · M ≥ 2.0

After source reconciliation, the catalogue contains 114 event entries of M2.0 or above for this area and period, spread over 88 days.

Catalogue entries11420 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026
Strongest recorded earthquakeM4.8Bay of Plenty ↗
Depth · median142.9 km114 events with valid depth
Last 30 days14Previous 30 days: 20

These figures describe the stored catalogue. Recording, magnitude types and geographic attribution may vary by source and period; completeness has not been established.

20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026

Earthquakes by month

M ≥ 2.0

Each bar counts events within the selected period. Hatched months are only partially included.

View data table
MonthAnalysis periodCatalogue entries
September 2025 · Partial month20 Sep 2025 – 30 Sep 20254
October 202501 Oct 2025 – 31 Oct 202513
November 202501 Nov 2025 – 30 Nov 20259
December 202501 Dec 2025 – 31 Dec 20259
January 202601 Jan 2026 – 31 Jan 202611
February 202601 Feb 2026 – 28 Feb 20269
March 202601 Mar 2026 – 31 Mar 20264
April 202601 Apr 2026 – 30 Apr 20262
May 202601 May 2026 – 31 May 20266
June 202601 Jun 2026 – 30 Jun 202610
July 202601 Jul 2026 – 31 Jul 202614
August 202601 Aug 2026 – 31 Aug 202616
September 2026 · Partial month01 Sep 2026 – 20 Sep 20267

How strong were the earthquakes?

Catalogue entries · 114

M 2.0 – < 3.00
M 3.0 – < 4.0101
M 4.0 – < 5.013
M 5.0 – < 6.00
M ≥ 6.00

At what depth did they occur?

114 events with valid depth

0 – < 30 km28
30 – < 70 km15
70 – < 300 km67
300 – 750 km4

0 events without valid depth are excluded here.

Depth · median

Half of the available values lie on either side of the median; ties are possible.

Current period in context

Last 30 days14
Previous 30 days20
Median of the eleven previous 30-day periods9

Same magnitude threshold, separate periods. Differences may also reflect changes in recording. No hazard level or forecast is inferred.

Where were earthquakes recorded?

Events assigned to Bay of Plenty in the stored location data are analysed. This is not a radius search. Missing or different attributions are excluded.

The interactive map complements the event links on this page.

Marker size and colour indicate magnitude.

Strongest recorded earthquake

20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 2.0

Data and methodology

Analysis period: 20 Sep 2025 15:00 – 20 Sep 2026 15:00 UTC

Data and methodology

Reports are first reconciled using existing event associations. Additional reports from different sources are consolidated only when every pair is within 5 seconds, 10 km and 0.5 magnitude units, source groups do not overlap and exactly one group matches. Ambiguous cases remain separate. The preferred report determines magnitude, time and area; period and magnitude filters are applied afterwards. The start is included and the end excluded (UTC).

0 additional source reports were consolidated during source reconciliation.

Events assigned to Bay of Plenty in the stored location data are analysed. This is not a radius search. Missing or different attributions are excluded.

These figures describe the stored catalogue. Recording, magnitude types and geographic attribution may vary by source and period; completeness has not been established.

Source reports used

The preferred report of each group is counted. Source priority follows the earthquake list. Different magnitude types and recording gaps limit comparability.

  • EMSC110
  • USGS4

The profile is recalculated hourly from the earthquake catalogue. Later source revisions may also change historical values.

Data as of: 20 Sep 2026 · 15:33 UTC

Map (last 30 days)

< 2 2–4 4–5 ≥ 5

About Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty Region is a local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the marine bight of that same name.

Seismic activity in 2026

In 2026, Bay of Plenty recorded 79 earthquakes within New Zealand. The average magnitude was M3.36. The strongest event reached M4.8.

Based on the number of recorded earthquakes in 2026, Bay of Plenty is currently among the Top 5 most active regions in New Zealand (rank #2 by count).

Located on the Kermadec Plate.

Earthquakes in Bay of Plenty (last 30 days)

M3.8
Whakatāne District
2026-09-17 · 08:00 UTC · 164 km
›
M3.6
Rotorua Lakes District
2026-09-16 · 17:28 UTC · 193 km
›
M3.3
Te Puke
2026-09-16 · 16:52 UTC · 178 km
›
M3.2
Rotorua Lakes District
2026-09-08 · 01:42 UTC · 253 km
›
M3.4
Bay of Plenty
2026-09-07 · 14:44 UTC · 256 km
›
M3.2
Bay of Plenty
2026-09-04 · 13:52 UTC · 59 km
›
M3.4
Bay of Plenty
2026-09-02 · 21:25 UTC · 349 km
›
M3.0
Western Bay of Plenty District
2026-08-31 · 09:04 UTC · 198 km
›
M3.4
Bay of Plenty
2026-08-31 · 06:42 UTC · 28 km
›
M4.3
Bay of Plenty
2026-08-26 · 22:08 UTC · 78 km
›
M3.2
Bay of Plenty
2026-08-23 · 11:38 UTC · 186 km
›
M3.0
Bay of Plenty
2026-08-22 · 23:29 UTC · 129 km
›
M3.1
Bay of Plenty
2026-08-22 · 20:03 UTC · 46 km
›
M3.1
Bay of Plenty
2026-08-21 · 17:00 UTC · 208 km
›