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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 5.0 mlNovember 16, 1975
89 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 5 km
M 4.8 mlNovember 14, 1975
13 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 22 km
M 4.8 mdNovember 13, 1975
11 km W of Oak Shores, California · depth 13 km
M 4.6 mlSeptember 27, 1975
1 km ENE of Oroville, California · depth 8 km
M 4.8 mlSeptember 13, 1975
14 km NW of Parkfield, California · depth 10 km
M 5.1 mbSeptember 13, 1975
Baja California, Mexico · depth 33 km
M 4.6 mlSeptember 9, 1975
35 km WNW of Samoa, California · depth 21 km
M 4.8 mdAugust 29, 1975
3 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · depth 11 km
M 4.6 mlAugust 15, 1975
5 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · depth 12 km
M 4.9 mlAugust 8, 1975
3 km WSW of Oroville East, California · depth 8 km
M 4.7 mlAugust 6, 1975
1 km E of South Oroville, California · depth 9 km
M 4.6 mdAugust 3, 1975
3 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · depth 11 km
M 4.9 mlAugust 3, 1975
7 km SW of Three Rocks, California · depth 17 km
M 4.6 mlAugust 3, 1975
3 km ESE of South Oroville, California · depth 7 km
M 4.5 mdAugust 2, 1975
8 km S of Three Rocks, California · depth 17 km
M 5.2 mlAugust 2, 1975
4 km E of Palermo, California · depth 2 km
M 5.1 mlAugust 2, 1975
5 km ENE of Palermo, California · depth 2 km
M 4.9 mlAugust 2, 1975
12km ESE of Anza, CA · depth 14 km
M 4.6 mlAugust 1, 1975
0 km ENE of Palermo, California
M 4.7 mlAugust 1, 1975
0 km ENE of Palermo, California
M 5.7 mlAugust 1, 1975
The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mlAugust 1, 1975
0 km WSW of Palermo, California · depth 4 km
M 4.7 mlAugust 1, 1975
2 km NNW of Palermo, California · depth 6 km
M 5.3 mlJune 7, 1975
3 km SSW of Ferndale, California · depth 23 km
M 5.3 mlJune 1, 1975
38km SW of Ludlow, CA · depth 0 km
M 4.6 mlMay 13, 1975
17km WNW of Grapevine, CA · depth 24 km
M 4.5 mbFebruary 24, 1975
259 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 33 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 28, 1975
82 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 5 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 23, 1975
4km SE of Brawley, CA · depth 14 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 12, 1975
32km ESE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlJanuary 12, 1975
29 km SSW of Ferndale, California · depth 33 km
M 5.2 mlNovember 28, 1974
9 km NW of Hollister, California · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mbNovember 28, 1974
78 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 4.7 mbSeptember 29, 1974
2 km N of Spring Garden, California · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mbSeptember 13, 1974
Baja California Sur, Mexico · depth 33 km
M 4.8 mdSeptember 5, 1974
13 km WNW of Three Rocks, California · depth 12 km
M 5.0 mbJuly 13, 1974
81 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 1 km
M 5.4 mbJuly 3, 1974
75 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 12 km
M 4.8 mbJune 10, 1974
70 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 22 km
M 4.6 mbMay 27, 1974
9 km S of East Quincy, California · 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.