 |
|
Date |
Magnitude |
Epicenter |
Name, Location, or
Region Affected |
Loss of Life and Property |
| Latitude |
Longitude |
| 1700, Jan. 26 |
9.0? |
? |
? |
Offshore, somewhere between Cape Mendocino and Canada |
Data not available, but shook northern California, Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia; caused tsunami damage to villages in Japan and western US |
| 1800, Nov. 22 |
6.3? |
32.90 |
-117.80 |
San Diego/San Juan Capistrano region |
Damaged adobe walls of missions in San Diego and San Juan Capistrano |
| 1812, Dec. 8 |
7.3? |
34.37 |
-117.65 |
Wrightwood |
40 dead at San Juan Capistrano |
| 1812, Dec. 21 |
7.1? |
34.75 |
-118.60 |
Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara |
1 dead |
| 1836, June 10 |
6.4? |
36.90 |
-121.50 |
Near San Juan Bautista |
[Older reports reported this quake as possibly larger and centered near Oakland] |
| 1838, June |
7.4? |
37.30? |
-122.15 |
San Francisco to San Juan Bautista |
Damage to San Francisco and Santa Clara |
| 1852, Nov. 29 |
6.5? |
32.50 |
-115 |
Near Fort Yuma, Arizona |
|
| 1857, Jan. 9 |
7.9 |
36.20 |
-120.80 |
Great Fort Tejon earthquake |
1 dead; damage from Monterey to San Bernardino County |
| 1860, Mar. 15 |
6.5? |
39.50 |
-119.50 |
Carson City |
|
| 1865, Oct. 8 |
6.5 |
37.20 |
-121.90 |
Santa Cruz Mountains |
$0.5 million in property damage |
| 1868, Oct. 21 |
7.0 |
37.70 |
-122.10 |
Hayward Fault |
30 dead; $350,000 in property damage |
| 1872, Mar. 26 |
7.4 |
36.70 |
-118.10 |
Owens Valley |
27 dead; 56 injured; $250,000 in property damage |
| 1872, Mar. 26 |
6.8 |
36.90 |
-118.20 |
Owens Valley |
Aftershock of previous entry |
| 1872, Apr. 11 |
6.8 |
37.50 |
-118.50 |
Owens Valley |
Aftershock of March 26, 1872 quake |
| 1873, Nov. 23 |
6.9 |
42.00 |
-124.20 |
Crescent City region |
Damage in California-Oregon border area |
| 1890, Feb. 9 |
6.8 |
33.40 |
-116.30 |
San Jacinto fault? |
Little damage |
| 1892, Feb. 24 |
7.3 |
32.55 |
-115.65 |
Laguna Salida, Baja California |
Damage to San Diego and Imperial Valley |
| 1892, Apr. 19 |
6.6 |
38.40 |
-122.00 |
Vacaville |
1 dead; $225,000 in property damage |
| 1898, Mar. 31 |
6.4 |
38.20 |
-122.50 |
Mare Island |
$350,000 in property damage |
| 1898, Apr. 15 |
6.7? |
39.20 |
-123.80 |
Fort Bragg - Mendocino |
Damage from Fort Bragg to Mendocino; 3 houses collapsed; landslides reported |
| 1899, Apr. 16 |
7.0 |
41.00 |
-125.80 |
Offshore, about 80 miles west of Eureka |
|
| 1899, July 22 |
6.4 |
34.30 |
-117.50 |
Wrightwood |
Chimneys knocked down; landslides reported |
| 1899, Dec. 25 |
6.7 |
33.80 |
-117.00 |
San Jacinto and Hemet |
6 dead; $50,000 in property damage |
| 1906, Apr. 18 |
7.8 |
37.70 |
-122.50 |
Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire |
3,000 dead; $524 million in property damage (includes damage from fire) |
| 1908, Nov. 4 |
6.0 |
36.00 |
-117.00 |
SW of Death Valley |
|
| 1911, July 1 |
6.4 |
37.25 |
-121.75 |
Morgan Hill area |
|
| 1915, Nov. 21 |
6.6 |
32.00 |
-115.00 |
In Mexico, about 60 miles S of El Centro |
|
| 1918, Apr. 21 |
6.8 |
33.75 |
-117.00 |
San Jacinto |
1 dead; several injuries; $200,000 in property damage |
| 1918, July 15 |
6.5 |
41.00 |
-125.00 |
Offshore, about 40 W of Eureka |
|
| 1922, Jan. 31 |
7.3 |
41.00 |
-125.50 |
Offshore, about 70 mi W of Eureka |
|
| 1922, Mar. 10 |
6.3 |
36.10 |
-120.60 |
Parkfield |
|
| 1923, Jan. 22 |
7.2 |
40.40 |
-124.90 |
Off Cape Mendocino |
Destructive in Humboldt County; strongly felt in Reno |
| 1925, Jun. 29 |
6.8 |
34.30 |
-119.80 |
Santa Barbara |
13 dead; $8 million in property damage |
| 1927, Nov. 4 |
7.1 |
34.60 |
-120.90 |
40 km west of Lompoc |
Damage in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties |
| 1932, Dec. 21 |
7.2 |
38.75 |
-118.00 |
Cedar Mountain, near Gabbs, NV |
|
| 1933, Mar. 11 |
6.4 |
33.70 |
-118.00 |
Long Beach |
115 dead; $40 million in property damage |
| 1934, July 6 |
6.5 |
41.25 |
-125.75 |
Offshore, about 100 mi WNW of Eureka |
|
| 1934, Dec. 30 |
6.5 |
32.25 |
-115.50 |
In Mexico, about 40 miles S of El Centro |
|
| 1934, Dec 31 |
7.0 |
32.00 |
-114.75 |
In Mexico, about 100 miles SE of El Centro |
|
| 1940, May 19 |
7.0 |
32.73 |
-115.50 |
Imperial Valley |
9 dead; $6 million in property damage |
| 1941, Feb. 9 |
6.6 |
40.70 |
-125.40 |
Offshore, about 65 miles W of Eureka |
|
| 1942, Oct. 21 |
6.4 |
32.97 |
-116.00 |
About 25 miles W of Westmoreland |
|
| 1947, Apr. 10 |
6.5 |
34.98 |
-116.55 |
East of Yermo |
|
| 1948, Dec. 4 |
6.0 |
33.93 |
-116.38 |
East of Yermo |
|
| 1952, July 21 |
7.3 |
35.00 |
-119.02 |
Kern County earthquake |
12 dead; $60 million in property damage |
| 1954, July 6 |
6.8 |
39.42 |
-118.53 |
Rainbow Mountain, near Fallon, NV |
|
| 1954, Aug. 24 |
6.8 |
39.58 |
-118.45 |
Rainbow Mountain, near Fallon, NV |
|
| 1954, Dec. 16 |
7.3 |
39.28 |
-118.12 |
Fairview Peak, near Fallon, NV |
|
| 1954, Dec. 16 |
7.1 |
39.80 |
-118.10 |
Dixie Valley, near Fallon, NV |
|
| 1954, Dec. 21 |
6.6 |
40.93 |
-123.78 |
East of Arcata |
1 dead; several injured; $2.1 million in property damage |
| 1956, Feb. 9 |
6.5 |
31.75 |
-115.92 |
In Mexico, about 80 miles SW of El Centro |
|
| 1968, Apr. 8 |
6.6 |
33.19 |
-116.13 |
Borrego Mountain |
|
| 1971, Feb. 9 |
6.6 |
34.41 |
-118.40 |
San Fernando |
65 dead; more than 2,000 injured; $505 million in losses |
| 1976, Nov. 26 |
6.8 |
41.29 |
-125.71 |
Offshore, about 100 mi WNW of Eureka |
|
| 1979, Oct. 15 |
6.5 |
32.61 |
-115.32 |
Imperial Valley |
9 injured; $30 million in property damage |
| 1980, May 25 |
6.2 |
37.60 |
-118.85 |
Mammoth Lakes |
|
| 1980, May 25 |
6.0 |
37.63 |
-118.93 |
Mammoth Lakes |
|
| 1980, Nov. 8 |
7.4 |
41.12 |
-124.67 |
West of Eureka |
6 injured; $2 million in property damage |
| 1983, May 2 |
6.4 |
36.23 |
-120.31 |
Coalinga |
|
| 1984, Apr. 24 |
6.2 |
37.31 |
-121.68 |
Morgan Hill |
$8 million in property damage |
| 1986, July 21 |
6.4 |
37.54 |
-118.44 |
Chalfant Valley |
|
| 1987, Oct. 1 |
6.0 |
34.07 |
-118.08 |
Whittier Narrows |
8 dead; $358 million in property damage to 10,500 homes and businesses |
| 1987, Nov. 24 |
6.2 |
33.09 |
-115.79 |
Superstition Hills |
$3 million in property damage |
| 1987, Nov. 24 |
6.6 |
33.01 |
-115.85 |
Superstition Hills |
part of above damage |
| 1989, Oct. 17 |
6.9 |
37.04 |
-121.88 |
Loma Prieta |
63 dead; 3,737 injured; $6 billion in property damage |
| 1991, July 12 |
6.6 |
42.02 |
-125.72 |
Offshore west of Crescent City |
|
| 1991, Aug 17 |
7.0 |
41.71 |
-125.63 |
Offshore, about 100 miles NW of Eureka |
Preceded by two quakes (M 6.3 and 6.2) on Aug. 16 and 17 |
| 1992, Apr. 25 |
7.2 |
40.33 |
-124.23 |
Petrolia |
356 injured; $48.3 million in property damage |
| 1992, Apr. 26 |
6.6 |
40.43 |
-124.60 |
Petrolia |
Aftershock of the Apr. 25 quake |
| 1992, Apr. 26 |
6.6 |
40.38 |
-124.59 |
Petrolia |
Another aftershock of Apr. 25 quake |
| 1992, June 28 |
7.3 |
34.20 |
-116.44 |
Landers |
1 dead; 402 injured; $91.1 million in property damage |
| 1992, June 28 |
6.5 |
34.17 |
-116.83 |
Big Bear |
Included with Landers losses, above |
| 1994, Jan. 17 |
6.7 |
34.21 |
-118.54 |
Northridge |
57 dead; more than 9,000 injured; about $40 billion in property damage |
| 1994, Sep. 1 |
7.0 |
40.40 |
-125.68 |
Offshore, about 70 miles W of Cape Mendocino |
|
| 1995, Feb. 19 |
6.3 |
40.60 |
-126.03 |
Offshore, about 70 miles W of Cape Mendocino |
|
| 1999, Oct. 16 |
7.1 |
34.60 |
-116.27 |
Bullion Mountains (Hector Mine) |
Minimal injuries and damage due to sparse population in affected area |
| 2003, Dec 22 |
6.5 |
35.71 |
-121.10 |
San Simeon |
|
|
Compiled from:
T. Toppozada and others, 2000, Epicenters of and areas damaged by M > 5 California earthquakes, 1800-1999 (CDMG Map Sheet 49);
Updated (3/2004) with data from: Toppozada, T. R. and D. Branum (2002) California M >= 5.5 earthquakes, history and areas damaged, in Lee, W. H., Kanamori, H. and Jennings, P., International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior;
National Earthquake Information Center (http://neic.usgs.gov/);
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/updates/louie/graphics/brochure.html); and loss information from C. Stover and J. Coffman, 1993, Seismicity of the United States (USGS Professional Paper 1527). See also Cascadia earthquake information at:
http://www.pep.bc.ca/cascadia_1700/cascadia_1700.html, http://www.seismo-watch.com/EQSERVICES/Newsletter/EQNEWS9701.html, http://www.oregonlive.com/news/00/01/st012610.html, and http://www.mala.bc.ca/~earles/1700quake/. | |