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California Earthquake History
Since April 30, 1900, the USGS has recorded 1,665 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater in California, 107 of them magnitude 6 or above. The strongest was M 7.9.
By decade
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Strongest in California
M 7.9 · The 1906 San Francisco, California EarthquakeApril 18, 1906M 7.5 · The 1952 Kern County, California EarthquakeJuly 21, 1952M 7.4 · 123 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJanuary 31, 1922M 7.3 · The 1992 Landers, California EarthquakeJune 28, 1992M 7.2 · The 1980 Eureka, California EarthquakeNovember 8, 1980M 7.2 · The 1992 Petrolia, California EarthquakeApril 25, 1992M 7.2 · 153 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJune 15, 2005M 7.1 · The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923M 7.1 · Gulf of CaliforniaDecember 9, 1901M 7.1 · Baja California, MexicoDecember 12, 1902
All recorded earthquakes
M 4.8 mlOctober 27, 1998
7km N of Big Bear City, California · depth 4 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 1, 1998
14km NE of Yucaipa, California · depth 3 km
M 4.8 mlAugust 16, 1998
14km S of Big Bear Lake, California · depth 5 km
M 5.1 mwAugust 12, 1998
10 km SW of Ridgemark, California · depth 9 km
M 4.5 mwJuly 21, 1998
4 km NNW of Redding, California · depth 23 km
M 4.9 mwJuly 15, 1998
8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · depth 4 km
M 4.8 mlJuly 2, 1998
51km NW of Stovepipe Wells, California · depth 5 km
M 4.9 mwJune 9, 1998
8 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mbJune 2, 1998
204 km WNW of Indianola, California · depth 25 km
M 4.8 mlMarch 7, 1998
29km E of Coso Junction, California · depth -1 km
M 5.0 mlMarch 7, 1998
30km E of Coso Junction, California · depth 0 km
M 4.8 mlMarch 6, 1998
28km ENE of Little Lake, California · depth -1 km
M 5.2 mlMarch 6, 1998
28km E of Coso Junction, California · depth 0 km
M 4.5 mwJanuary 20, 1998
55 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mwDecember 31, 1997
9 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 4 km
M 4.9 mwNovember 30, 1997
2 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mwNovember 22, 1997
California-Nevada border region · depth 6 km
M 4.9 mwNovember 22, 1997
3 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mwNovember 22, 1997
California-Nevada border region · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlNovember 15, 1997
37km ENE of Big Pine, California · depth 4 km
M 5.2 mwOctober 26, 1997
99 km W of Trinidad, California · depth 5 km
M 4.6 mwOctober 12, 1997
125 km W of Trinidad, California · depth 10 km
M 5.5 mwOctober 4, 1997
100 km WNW of Samoa, California · depth 7 km
M 4.9 mlJuly 26, 1997
16km N of Borrego Springs, California · depth 11 km
M 4.5 mlJune 20, 1997
28km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), California · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlJune 20, 1997
27km SE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), California · depth 6 km
M 5.4 mwcJune 7, 1997
188 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 5 km
M 4.9 mlApril 27, 1997
11km SW of Valencia, California · depth 15 km
M 5.1 mlApril 26, 1997
12km ESE of Piru, California · depth 16 km
M 5.3 mlMarch 18, 1997
20km ENE of Barstow, California · depth 1 km
M 5.2 mwJanuary 26, 1997
33 km SW of Scotia, California · depth 22 km
M 4.6 mwJanuary 22, 1997
41 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 23 km
M 5.6 mwJanuary 22, 1997
33 km SW of Scotia, California · depth 23 km
M 5.3 mwNovember 27, 1996
27km E of Coso Junction, California · depth -0 km
M 5.5 mwcSeptember 6, 1996
182 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 4.7 mwAugust 8, 1996
48 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 7 km
M 4.8 mwJuly 16, 1996
265 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 4.7 mwMay 21, 1996
8 km ESE of East Foothills, California · depth 8 km
M 4.9 mwApril 19, 1996
2 km E of Aromas, California · depth 5 km
M 5.2 mlJanuary 7, 1996
16km N of Ridgecrest, California · depth 3 km
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program. Older and smaller earthquakes are under-counted relative to recent decades as instrumentation improved. A record of past shaking is not a forecast. See About the Data.