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 4.5 mhFebruary 9, 1971
10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.8 mhFebruary 9, 1971
10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · depth 6 km
M 6.6 mwFebruary 9, 1971
1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · depth 9 km
M 5.6 mwSeptember 13, 1970
88 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 5.2 mlSeptember 12, 1970
3km W of Lytle Creek, CA · depth 11 km
M 4.5 mbAugust 4, 1970
Near the coast of Central California · depth 8 km
M 4.6 mbJune 12, 1970
3 km SW of Blackhawk, California · depth 9 km
M 5.0 mbJune 7, 1970
142 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 33 km
M 4.5 mwMarch 31, 1970
2 km NW of Hollister, California · depth 8 km
M 4.5 mlNovember 5, 1969
103km WSW of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.4 mlNovember 5, 1969
77km WSW of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 31, 1969
7km W of Santa Barbara Is., CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 24, 1969
16km SSW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlOctober 24, 1969
18km SSW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · depth 6 km
M 5.8 mwOctober 22, 1969
87 km W of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California · depth 12 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 3, 1969
19km NE of Mammoth Lakes, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.3 mwOctober 2, 1969
Northern California · depth 15 km
M 5.3 mwOctober 2, 1969
3 km E of Bloomfield, California · depth 15 km
M 4.6 mbJuly 1, 1969
26 km SW of Scotia, California · depth 26 km
M 4.5 mbJune 28, 1969
32 km SW of Scotia, California · depth 39 km
M 5.5 mlApril 28, 1969
1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.3 mwFebruary 7, 1969
18 km SSW of Scotia, California · depth 25 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 23, 1969
24km NE of Indio, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlDecember 17, 1968
20km W of Westmorland, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlJuly 7, 1968
19km NE of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA · depth 21 km
M 5.0 mlJuly 5, 1968
20km ENE of Santa Cruz Is. (NW end), CA · depth 0 km
M 5.1 mbJune 26, 1968
26 km NW of Shelter Cove, California · depth 10 km
M 5.9 mwJune 26, 1968
29 km W of Shelter Cove, California · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mbJune 3, 1968
49 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 33 km
M 4.7 mbMay 9, 1968
131 km W of Big Lagoon, California · depth 33 km
M 4.8 mwApril 29, 1968
8 km NW of Princeton, California · depth 15 km
M 4.6 mbApril 25, 1968
4 km NNW of Santa Rosa, California · depth 8 km
M 4.5 mlApril 9, 1968
13km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.2 mhApril 9, 1968
21km NW of Ocotillo, CA · depth 6 km
M 6.6 mwApril 9, 1968
The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · depth 10 km
M 5.0 mlFebruary 6, 1968
70km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mbDecember 30, 1967
15 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 3 km
M 5.3 mwDecember 18, 1967
2 km W of Corralitos, California · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mbDecember 10, 1967
62 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 6.0 mwDecember 10, 1967
33 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 18 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.