Home / Earthquakes / California
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
'00
'10
'20
'30
'40
'50
'60
'70
'80
'90
'00
'10
'20
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 4.6 mlMay 25, 1980
9 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA · depth 1 km
M 4.6 mlMay 25, 1980
11 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 1 km
M 4.6 mhMay 25, 1980
22km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA · depth 4 km
M 4.5 mlMay 25, 1980
10 km NNW of Sunny Slopes, California · depth 5 km
M 6.0 mlMay 25, 1980
7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 7 km
M 6.1 mlMay 25, 1980
11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · depth 7 km
M 4.7 mlApril 13, 1980
7 km SSE of San Juan Bautista, California · depth 8 km
M 5.1 mlMarch 3, 1980
76 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 9 km
M 5.3 mlFebruary 25, 1980
18km ESE of Anza, CA · depth 19 km
M 5.4 mlJanuary 27, 1980
9 km NE of Livermore, California · depth 14 km
M 4.6 mlJanuary 25, 1980
10 km SW of Brentwood, California · depth 9 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 24, 1980
11 km E of Blackhawk, California · depth 4 km
M 5.1 mlJanuary 24, 1980
11 km E of Blackhawk, California · depth 7 km
M 5.8 mlJanuary 24, 1980
The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · depth 14 km
M 4.5 mlNovember 8, 1979
102 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 8 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 24, 1979
34 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 26 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 17, 1979
8km S of Calipatria, CA · depth 10 km
M 4.9 mlOctober 16, 1979
7km N of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 4.7 mlOctober 16, 1979
8km SW of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 5.8 mlOctober 16, 1979
3km NW of Brawley, CA · depth 14 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 16, 1979
3km WNW of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 5.0 mlOctober 16, 1979
4km SSW of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 5.1 mlOctober 16, 1979
4km SW of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 16, 1979
5km WSW of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 16, 1979
4km SW of Brawley, CA · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 16, 1979
7km NE of Imperial, CA · depth 10 km
M 5.2 mhOctober 15, 1979
8km SW of Holtville, CA · depth 9 km
M 6.4 mwOctober 15, 1979
The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · depth 15 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 8, 1979
9 km W of Bridgeport, California · depth 18 km
M 5.0 mlOctober 7, 1979
8 km W of Bridgeport, California · depth 3 km
M 5.8 mlAugust 6, 1979
The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · depth 8 km
M 4.6 mbAugust 2, 1979
265 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 4.7 mlAugust 1, 1979
69 km W of Indianola, California · depth 44 km
M 5.3 mbAugust 1, 1979
254 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 4.8 mlJune 30, 1979
3km E of Big Bear Lake, CA · depth 13 km
M 4.5 mlJune 14, 1979
18km NW of Inyokern, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlMay 8, 1979
15 km E of Seven Trees, California · depth 7 km
M 4.7 mbApril 13, 1979
231 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 5.3 mdApril 7, 1979
71 km W of Trinidad, California · depth 4 km
M 4.8 mlMarch 15, 1979
25km NNW of Joshua Tree, CA · depth 2 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.