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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 mlSeptember 5, 1950
2km SE of Idyllwild, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlAugust 1, 1950
15km S of Bombay Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlJuly 29, 1950
5 km W of Calipatria, California · depth 16 km
M 5.4 mlJuly 29, 1950
7km NW of Westmorland, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlJuly 28, 1950
7km NNE of Imperial, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.3 mlJuly 28, 1950
7km ESE of Calipatria, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlJuly 28, 1950
3km NNE of Niland, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlJuly 28, 1950
5km SSE of Calipatria, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlJuly 27, 1950
5km NNE of Brawley, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlJune 9, 1950
134 km W of Big Lagoon, California
M 4.6 mlMarch 23, 1950
18 km NNE of Mineral, California
M 5.5 mlMarch 20, 1950
15 km NE of Mineral, California
M 4.6 mlJanuary 14, 1950
35 km NW of Shelter Cove, California
M 4.5 mlOctober 28, 1949
6 km NNW of Manila, California
M 4.7 mlOctober 22, 1949
22 km NE of Soledad, California
M 4.7 mlAugust 27, 1949
41km WNW of San Miguel Is., CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlAugust 21, 1949
4 km S of Chester, California
M 4.5 mlJune 27, 1949
11 km WNW of Oak Shores, California
M 5.7 mlMay 2, 1949
38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlApril 13, 1949
33km N of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA · depth 6 km
M 6.4 mwMarch 24, 1949
169 km W of Crescent City, California · depth 15 km
M 4.8 mlJanuary 20, 1949
6 km WNW of Verdi, California
M 4.5 mlJanuary 3, 1949
38km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlJanuary 1, 1949
2 km ENE of Aromas, California
M 4.6 mlDecember 31, 1948
19 km W of San Simeon, California
M 6.0 mlDecember 29, 1948
6 km WNW of Verdi, California
M 4.7 mlDecember 5, 1948
12km NNE of Thousand Palms, CA · depth 6 km
M 6.0 mwDecember 4, 1948
The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlNovember 12, 1948
20 km SSW of Ferndale, California
M 4.5 mlApril 16, 1948
20km SW of Malibu, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlMarch 28, 1948
2 km W of San Juan Bautista, California
M 4.6 mlMarch 28, 1948
2 km W of San Juan Bautista, California
M 4.6 mlMarch 1, 1948
2km ENE of Lytle Creek, CA · depth 3 km
M 4.7 mlFebruary 27, 1948
48km SSW of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · depth 6 km
M 5.2 mlFebruary 24, 1948
42km SSW of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlFebruary 19, 1948
63 km WNW of Samoa, California
M 5.0 mlNovember 18, 1947
9km SSE of San Nicolas Is., CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlNovember 2, 1947
102 km WSW of Ferndale, California
M 4.7 mlSeptember 8, 1947
3 km SSW of Truckee, California
M 4.5 mlSeptember 8, 1947
Northern California
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.