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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 mlMay 6, 1992
15km NNE of Thousand Palms, California · depth 6 km
M 5.0 mlMay 4, 1992
16km NNE of Thousand Palms, California · depth 12 km
M 4.6 mdApril 27, 1992
43 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 4 km
M 6.6 mwApril 26, 1992
32 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 22 km
M 6.5 mwApril 26, 1992
30 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 19 km
M 4.6 mdApril 25, 1992
39 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mdApril 25, 1992
39 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth -0 km
M 4.6 mdApril 25, 1992
34 km SSW of Ferndale, California · depth -1 km
M 4.5 mdApril 25, 1992
19 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth -1 km
M 7.2 mwApril 25, 1992
The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake · depth 10 km
M 6.1 mwApril 23, 1992
The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · depth 12 km
M 4.5 mlApril 23, 1992
17km NNE of Thousand Palms, California · depth 11 km
M 5.3 mdMarch 8, 1992
27 km NW of Shelter Cove, California · depth 9 km
M 5.2 mlSeptember 17, 1991
22 km NW of San Simeon, California · depth 9 km
M 4.5 mbAugust 17, 1991
170 km W of Crescent City, California · depth 5 km
M 6.0 mlAugust 17, 1991
30 km SSW of Scotia, California · depth 8 km
M 4.5 mlAugust 3, 1991
off the coast of Northern California · depth 5 km
M 5.8 mwJune 28, 1991
The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · depth 8 km
M 4.7 mlApril 28, 1991
33 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 26 km
M 4.6 mlMarch 24, 1991
1 km NNE of Interlaken, California · depth 15 km
M 4.6 mbFebruary 21, 1991
284 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 5 km
M 4.7 mlFebruary 4, 1991
33 km SE of Big Sur, California · depth 9 km
M 4.5 mlDecember 7, 1990
95 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 4 km
M 5.8 mlOctober 24, 1990
3 km NE of Mono City, California · depth 11 km
M 4.7 mlSeptember 26, 1990
105 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 6 km
M 5.1 mlApril 18, 1990
4 km E of Interlaken, California · depth 7 km
M 5.4 mlApril 18, 1990
5 km NNW of Aromas, California · depth 5 km
M 4.9 mlApril 18, 1990
4 km NNW of Aromas, California · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlApril 18, 1990
4 km N of Aromas, California · depth 4 km
M 4.5 mlApril 17, 1990
1km N of Claremont, CA · depth 3 km
M 4.5 mlApril 4, 1990
48km WSW of Carlsbad, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlMarch 1, 1990
6km N of Claremont, CA · depth 10 km
M 5.5 mlFebruary 28, 1990
The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · depth 3 km
M 4.9 mlJanuary 18, 1990
27 km ESE of Orick, California · depth 35 km
M 5.4 mlJanuary 16, 1990
30 km NW of Shelter Cove, California · depth 4 km
M 4.6 mlNovember 3, 1989
8 km WSW of Topaz, California · depth -0 km
M 4.7 mlNovember 2, 1989
6 km NE of Day Valley, California · depth 9 km
M 4.7 mlOctober 25, 1989
7 km NE of Day Valley, California · depth 9 km
M 4.7 mlOctober 21, 1989
4 km NW of Day Valley, California · depth 15 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 21, 1989
2 km NNE of Day Valley, California · depth 13 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.