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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

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Strongest in California

All recorded earthquakes

M 4.6 mwApril 27, 2010
14km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · depth 3 km
M 4.6 mlApril 22, 2010
19km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · depth 5 km
M 4.5 mbApril 17, 2010
250 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 4.5 mwApril 15, 2010
131 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 29 km
M 4.5 mlApril 6, 2010
19km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · depth 2 km
M 4.7 mwApril 5, 2010
21km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · depth 0 km
M 4.9 mwApril 5, 2010
19km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · depth 14 km
M 5.0 mlApril 5, 2010
20km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · depth 1 km
M 4.5 mhMarch 6, 2010
49km SW of Ferndale, CA · depth 13 km
M 4.5 mwMarch 6, 2010
48 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 12 km
M 5.9 mwFebruary 4, 2010
61 km WSW of Ferndale, California · depth 23 km
M 6.5 mwJanuary 10, 2010
The 2010 Eureka, California Earthquake · depth 29 km
M 4.6 mlNovember 16, 2009
26km SSE of Trona, CA · depth 1 km
M 4.9 mwcNovember 16, 2009
Gulf of California · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mbOctober 8, 2009
Baja California, Mexico · depth 10 km
M 4.7 mlOctober 3, 2009
18km NE of Olancha, CA · depth 0 km
M 5.2 mwOctober 3, 2009
18km NE of Olancha, CA · depth -2 km
M 4.8 mlOctober 3, 2009
17km NE of Olancha, CA · depth 2 km
M 4.7 mlOctober 3, 2009
18km NE of Olancha, CA · depth 1 km
M 4.7 mwrOctober 2, 2009
190 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 5.0 mwOctober 1, 2009
18km NE of Olancha, CA · depth 4 km
M 4.9 mwAugust 7, 2009
43 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 16 km
M 4.7 mlMay 23, 2009
20km NE of Olancha, CA · depth -1 km
M 4.7 mwMay 18, 2009
2km E of Lennox, CA · depth 14 km
M 4.8 mlMarch 24, 2009
4km S of Bombay Beach, CA · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mwDecember 26, 2008
3 km NE of East Quincy, California · depth -2 km
M 5.1 mwDecember 6, 2008
26km WNW of Ludlow, CA · depth 6 km
M 5.9 mwcNovember 28, 2008
231 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 4.6 mwNovember 16, 2008
40 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 19 km
M 4.9 mwOctober 26, 2008
40 km SW of Ferndale, California · depth 21 km
M 4.6 mwAugust 17, 2008
7 km WNW of Big Lagoon, California · depth 16 km
M 5.4 mwJuly 29, 2008
5km S of Chino Hills, CA · depth 16 km
M 5.4 mwApril 30, 2008
3 km NNW of Burnt Ranch, California · depth 28 km
M 4.7 mwJanuary 19, 2008
31 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · depth 2 km
M 4.5 mwJanuary 19, 2008
34 km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · depth 10 km
M 4.9 mwcDecember 11, 2007
171 km W of Ferndale, California · depth 10 km
M 5.5 mwOctober 31, 2007
6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · depth 10 km
M 4.7 mlSeptember 2, 2007
13km NE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · depth 12 km
M 4.7 mlAugust 9, 2007
5km NNW of Chatsworth, CA · depth 7 km
M 5.0 mwJune 25, 2007
57 km W of Trinidad, California · depth 3 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.