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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 mlDecember 11, 1930
36 km W of Shelter Cove, California
M 4.5 mlOctober 29, 1930
13 km S of Round Mountain, California
M 5.0 mlSeptember 23, 1930
1 km NE of Samoa, California
M 5.3 msAugust 31, 1930
1 km SW of Las Flores, California · depth 15 km
M 5.0 mlAugust 5, 1930
10 km NE of Toro Canyon, California
M 4.7 ukJuly 7, 1930
23 km SW of Inyokern, California
M 4.5 mlMarch 2, 1930
3 km NE of Brawley, California
M 4.5 mlMarch 1, 1930
3 km NE of Brawley, California
M 5.0 mlFebruary 26, 1930
3 km NE of Brawley, California
M 5.1 ukJanuary 16, 1930
4 km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California
M 5.3 msJanuary 16, 1930
4 km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California
M 4.5 mlJanuary 9, 1930
6 km SE of San Juan Bautista, California
M 4.5 mlJanuary 9, 1930
6 km SE of San Juan Bautista, California
M 4.5 mlDecember 4, 1929
8 km ENE of Scotia, California
M 5.5 mlNovember 28, 1929
10 km N of Independence, California
M 4.6 ukOctober 15, 1929
26 km NE of San Ardo, California
M 5.1 mlSeptember 26, 1929
46 km E of Barstow, California
M 4.7 mlJuly 8, 1929
2 km WSW of La Mirada, California · depth 13 km
M 4.5 mlMarch 13, 1929
7 km SSW of Mettler, California
M 5.0 mlOctober 2, 1928
11 km N of Seeley, California
M 5.0 mlSeptember 5, 1928
15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California
M 4.8 ukAugust 9, 1928
1 km NNW of Buena Vista, California
M 4.5 ukJune 4, 1928
2 km NE of Weaverville, California
M 5.2 ukApril 18, 1928
9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California
M 4.5 faApril 15, 1928
20 km WNW of Paskenta, California · depth 15 km
M 4.6 ukJanuary 9, 1928
1 km WSW of Gilroy, California
M 5.0 ukNovember 19, 1927
5 km SSW of Nipomo, California
M 5.9 mwNovember 6, 1927
233 km WSW of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California · depth 15 km
M 6.9 mwNovember 4, 1927
The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake · depth 10 km
M 5.9 mwSeptember 18, 1927
8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · depth 15 km
M 5.6 mwAugust 20, 1927
15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · depth 15 km
M 5.3 ukAugust 20, 1927
38 km W of Trinidad, California
M 5.3 ukAugust 4, 1927
2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California
M 4.9 ukMay 28, 1927
Northern California
M 5.0 mlFebruary 15, 1927
9 km SW of Davenport, California
M 5.0 mlDecember 27, 1926
4 km NE of Coalinga, California
M 6.2 mwDecember 10, 1926
183 km WNW of Indianola, California · depth 15 km
M 5.5 mlOctober 24, 1926
1 km WNW of Davenport, California
M 6.3 mwOctober 22, 1926
16 km SW of Davenport, California · depth 10 km
M 6.3 mwOctober 22, 1926
22 km S of Davenport, California · depth 15 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.