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 5.1 mlJune 12, 1944
10km NNE of Cabazon, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.1 mlDecember 22, 1943
22km SSW of Amboy, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.3 mlAugust 29, 1943
6km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.3 mlMarch 30, 1943
11 km N of Soda Springs, California
M 4.5 mlDecember 20, 1942
5 km ENE of Markleeville, California
M 5.1 mlDecember 17, 1942
10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California
M 4.7 mlOctober 22, 1942
22km N of Ocotillo, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.6 mlOctober 22, 1942
6km WNW of Niland, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 21, 1942
23km NNW of Ocotillo, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 21, 1942
11km SSW of Westmorland, CA · depth 6 km
M 6.6 mwOctober 21, 1942
The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlSeptember 4, 1942
18km S of Frazier Park, CA · depth 20 km
M 4.6 mlAugust 7, 1942
14km NNW of Joshua Tree, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.9 mlMay 23, 1942
20km SW of Ocotillo Wells, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlMarch 3, 1942
26km SE of Twentynine Palms, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlFebruary 1, 1942
14km E of Lucerne Valley, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.4 mlDecember 31, 1941
46km N of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlDecember 24, 1941
41km S of Ocotillo, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.1 mlNovember 14, 1941
The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 25, 1941
3 km SE of Willows, California
M 4.7 mlOctober 22, 1941
The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (First Event) · depth 0 km
M 5.0 mlOctober 6, 1941
65 km WSW of Ferndale, California
M 6.5 mwOctober 3, 1941
68 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 5.1 mlSeptember 21, 1941
2km NNE of Frazier Park, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlSeptember 14, 1941
15km NNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.5 mwSeptember 14, 1941
2 km NW of Aspen Springs, California · depth 16 km
M 5.5 mlSeptember 14, 1941
2 km NW of Aspen Springs, California · depth 16 km
M 5.6 mlSeptember 14, 1941
25km NW of West Bishop, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlJuly 12, 1941
17km NNW of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlJuly 1, 1941
19km S of Santa Barbara, CA · depth 10 km
M 5.5 mlJuly 1, 1941
The 1941 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mlMay 28, 1941
10 km WSW of Morgan Hill, California
M 4.5 mlMay 16, 1941
69 km WSW of Ferndale, California
M 6.3 mwMay 13, 1941
201 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mlMay 1, 1941
3 km WSW of Keddie, California
M 4.5 msFebruary 11, 1941
79 km W of Shelter Cove, California
M 6.8 mwFebruary 9, 1941
84 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 4.7 mlJanuary 23, 1941
62 km W of Ferndale, California
M 6.0 mwDecember 20, 1940
44 km SW of Shelter Cove, California · depth 15 km
M 4.7 mlNovember 19, 1940
56 km W of Indianola, 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.