A very shallow magnitude 4.0 earthquake was reported early morning near Salinas, Monterey County, California, USA.According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit on Tuesday, August 11th, 2026, at 3:19 am local time at a very shallow depth of 3.3 miles. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.0 earthquake as well.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Soledad (pop. 25,000) located 13 miles from the epicenter, Greenfield (pop. 17,200) 17 miles away, Hollister (pop. 37,500) 23 miles away, Salinas (pop. 157,400) 27 miles away, and Prunedale (pop. 17,600) 31 miles away.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Gilroy (pop. 53,200) located 37 miles from the epicenter, Seaside (pop. 33,000) 37 miles away, Los Banos (pop. 37,500) 38 miles away, and Watsonville (pop. 53,600) 40 miles away.Earthquake data: Date & time: Aug 11, 2026 10:19 am (Universal Time) local time (11 Aug 2026 10:19 GMT)Magnitude: 4.0Depth: 5.36 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 36.57°N / 121.18°W (San Benito County, California, United States)Primary data source: USGS