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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 5.3 mlJanuary 7, 1983
3 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 4 km
M 5.4 mlJanuary 7, 1983
6 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 5 km
M 4.7 mbDecember 28, 1982
25 km NNE of Benton, California · depth 18 km
M 5.4 mlOctober 25, 1982
22 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · depth 11 km
M 5.1 mcOctober 1, 1982
12km NNE of Inyokern, CA · depth 3 km
M 4.5 mlAugust 18, 1982
8 km NE of Corralitos, California · depth 12 km
M 4.6 mlAugust 11, 1982
16 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mlAugust 10, 1982
22 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlJune 15, 1982
1km SSW of Anza, CA · depth 11 km
M 4.5 mbApril 15, 1982
24 km N of Benton, California · depth 20 km
M 4.6 mlMarch 7, 1982
12km NNE of Inyokern, CA · depth 5 km
M 5.2 mlFebruary 6, 1982
85 km W of Trinidad, California · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mlJanuary 28, 1982
California-Nevada border region · depth 5 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 13, 1982
122 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 5 km
M 4.7 mlNovember 10, 1981
18km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA · depth 7 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 23, 1981
17km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · depth 15 km
M 4.8 mlOctober 23, 1981
14km NNE of Santa Barbara Is., CA · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 1, 1981
14 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California · depth 3 km
M 4.5 mlSeptember 30, 1981
11 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 2 km
M 4.9 mlSeptember 30, 1981
11 km E of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 4 km
M 5.9 mlSeptember 30, 1981
11 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 3 km
M 4.7 mlSeptember 16, 1981
36 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 28 km
M 5.5 mlSeptember 4, 1981
11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlJuly 17, 1981
23 km WSW of Weott, California · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mlMay 26, 1981
58 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 2 km
M 4.5 mlMay 7, 1981
12 km NNW of Benton, California · depth 9 km
M 5.8 mlApril 26, 1981
The 1981 Westmorland, California Earthquake · depth 19 km
M 4.7 mlApril 19, 1981
16km SSE of Little Lake, CA · depth 5 km
M 4.7 mlMarch 15, 1981
130 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 7 km
M 4.8 mdFebruary 14, 1981
24 km SE of Klamath, California · depth 42 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 15, 1981
7 km E of East Foothills, California · depth 9 km
M 4.5 mlJanuary 7, 1981
2 km SE of Aromas, California · depth 9 km
M 4.7 mlDecember 24, 1980
12 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 5 km
M 5.0 mlDecember 24, 1980
53 km WNW of Big Lagoon, California · depth 3 km
M 4.8 mdDecember 23, 1980
107 km WNW of Samoa, California · depth 5 km
M 5.1 mlNovember 28, 1980
8 km SSW of Kingvale, California · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlNovember 11, 1980
23 km NNW of Benton, California · depth 5 km
M 4.8 mbNovember 10, 1980
118 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 13 km
M 4.6 mbNovember 10, 1980
25 km WNW of Big Lagoon, California · depth 15 km
M 5.0 mbNovember 9, 1980
91 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 15 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.