All earthquakes

Earthquakes in 1929

The USGS located 312 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more worldwide in 1929, 125 of them magnitude 6 or more, and 41 of magnitude 2.5 or more in the United States. The largest: M8.1 1929 South Sandwich Islands Earthquake, Jun 27, 1929.

From the USGS catalog. Magnitude 4.5 and up worldwide, and 2.5 and up in the United States. Times are local to each quake.

19281930

Map

Where the largest earthquakes of 1929 were located. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The largest

The 25 largest of 1929, by magnitude.

  1. 8.11929 South Sandwich Islands Earthquake · 15 km deepSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  2. 7.993 km NW of Attu Station, Alaska · 20 km deepAlaska
  3. 7.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska · 15 km deepAlaska
  4. 7.5262 km W of Port McNeill, Canada · 15 km deepCanada
  5. 7.388 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 35 km deepAlaska
  6. 7.368 km S of Wakefield, New Zealand · 20 km deepNew Zealand
  7. 7.25 km ESE of Veruela, Philippines · 35 km deepPhilippines
  8. 7.2256 km S of Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon · 10 km deepSaint Pierre and Miquelon
  9. 7.240 km SSE of Baharly, Turkmenistan · 10 km deepTurkmenistan
  10. 7.0State of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia · 10 km deepMicronesia
  11. 7.0northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge · 10 km deep
  12. 7.0off the coast of Central America · 15 km deepGuatemala
  13. 7.0114 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 35 km deepAlaska
  14. 7.030 km NW of Amberley, New Zealand · 20 km deepNew Zealand
  15. 7.0281 km ENE of Kuril’sk, Russia · 35 km deepRussia
  16. 6.965 km SSE of Toba, Japan · 350 km deepJapan
  17. 6.931 km ESE of Miyazaki, Japan · 35 km deepJapan
  18. 6.821 km E of Pondaguitan, Philippines · 35 km deepPhilippines
  19. 6.8central Mid-Atlantic Ridge · 10 km deep
  20. 6.8286 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia · 35 km deepRussia
  21. 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, Indonesia · 25 km deepIndonesia
  22. 6.722 km NNE of Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela · 10 km deepVenezuela
  23. 6.7273 km ENE of Kuril’sk, Russia · 35 km deepRussia
  24. 6.764 km ESE of San Rafael, Argentina · 10 km deepArgentina
  25. 6.7235 km W of Port McNeill, Canada · 15 km deepCanada

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 1929257.0off the coast of Central America
February 1929217.0northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
March 1929317.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska
April 1929246.2144 km SSE of El Carrizal, Mexico
May 1929317.5262 km W of Port McNeill, Canada
June 1929398.11929 South Sandwich Islands Earthquake
July 1929437.388 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
August 1929286.657 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan
September 1929196.7235 km W of Port McNeill, Canada
October 1929196.5Hualālai area, Hawaii
November 1929137.2256 km S of Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon
December 1929217.993 km NW of Attu Station, Alaska

By state

Where the year’s United States quakes of magnitude 2.5 and up were located. A state with none that year is not listed.

By country

Where the year’s quakes of magnitude 4.5 and up were located. Quakes at sea, away from any country, are not counted here.

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.