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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 4.7 mhMarch 11, 1933
2km ENE of Seal Beach, CA · depth 0 km
M 4.9 mhMarch 11, 1933
2km ENE of Seal Beach, CA · depth 0 km
M 4.6 mlMarch 11, 1933
2 km ENE of Seal Beach, California · depth 16 km
M 4.8 mlMarch 11, 1933
5km SE of Seal Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlMarch 11, 1933
2 km ENE of Seal Beach, California · depth 16 km
M 4.7 mlMarch 11, 1933
2km ENE of Seal Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlMarch 11, 1933
2 km ENE of Seal Beach, California · depth 16 km
M 4.6 mlMarch 11, 1933
2km SW of Santa Ana, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mhMarch 11, 1933
2km ENE of Seal Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlMarch 11, 1933
4km WNW of Newport Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mhMarch 11, 1933
4km WNW of Newport Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 6.4 mwMarch 11, 1933
The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · depth 6 km
M 4.8 mlFebruary 24, 1933
32km NNE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · depth 6 km
M 5.1 mlFebruary 3, 1933
37km N of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.6 mlJanuary 2, 1933
62km ENE of Bishop, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.9 ukNovember 3, 1932
5 km NW of Boulder Creek, California
M 4.5 mlOctober 25, 1932
11 km SW of Round Valley, California · depth 16 km
M 4.6 mlOctober 25, 1932
Near Santa Cruz, California · depth 6 km
M 4.7 mlOctober 19, 1932
39km SSE of Carmel Valley Village, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mlOctober 9, 1932
1 km S of Calexico, California · depth 16 km
M 4.5 mlJune 14, 1932
5 km WSW of Saratoga, California
M 6.5 mwJune 6, 1932
The 1932 Eureka, California Earthquake · depth 15 km
M 4.5 mlApril 16, 1932
16 km SE of Tres Pinos, California
M 5.6 mlMarch 2, 1932
236 km W of Ferndale, California
M 5.0 mlFebruary 26, 1932
8 km WSW of San Ardo, California
M 4.5 mlJanuary 5, 1932
21 km SW of Ferndale, California
M 5.1 ukDecember 4, 1931
8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California
M 5.9 mwSeptember 9, 1931
9 km S of Leggett, California · depth 15 km
M 5.8 msSeptember 9, 1931
near the coast of Northern California
M 4.5 mlSeptember 2, 1931
25 km NNW of Fort Jones, California
M 5.7 mwAugust 23, 1931
130 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 15 km
M 4.8 ukJuly 21, 1931
3 km SSW of San Luis Obispo, California
M 5.6 msMarch 10, 1931
near the coast of Northern California
M 4.7 ukFebruary 23, 1931
9 km SW of Parkfield, California
M 5.0 ukJanuary 6, 1931
198 km WSW of Pescadero, California
M 4.6 ukDecember 15, 1930
1 km NE of Samoa, California
M 4.8 ukDecember 14, 1930
2 km E of Rio Dell, California
M 4.5 mlDecember 12, 1930
7 km WSW of Indianola, California
M 4.5 mlDecember 12, 1930
12 km ESE of Leggett, California
M 5.0 ukDecember 11, 1930
3 km SSE of McKinleyville, 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.