All earthquakes

Earthquakes in 1961

The USGS located 274 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more worldwide in 1961, 104 of them magnitude 6 or more, and 598 of magnitude 2.5 or more in the United States. The largest: M7.6 132 km W of Iñapari, Peru, Aug 19, 1961.

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.

19601962

Map

Where the largest earthquakes of 1961 were located. Select one for its page.

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The largest

The 25 largest of 1961, by magnitude.

  1. 7.6132 km W of Iñapari, Peru · 612 km deepPeru
  2. 7.518 km NNE of Nichinan, Japan · 35 km deepJapan
  3. 7.363 km S of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 25 km deepVanuatu
  4. 7.3South Sandwich Islands region · 129 km deepSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  5. 7.2149 km WNW of Iñapari, Peru · 598 km deepPeru
  6. 7.293 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan · 30 km deepJapan
  7. 7.1South Sandwich Islands region · 101 km deepSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  8. 7.0151 km ENE of Kashgar, China · 35 km deepChina
  9. 7.0126 km ESE of Koshima, Japan · 31 km deepJapan
  10. 7.0104 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan · 30 km deepJapan
  11. 7.048 km SW of Nemuro, Japan · 44 km deepJapan
  12. 7.0Kermadec Islands region · 30 km deep
  13. 6.978 km E of Shikotan, Russia · 38 km deepRussia
  14. 6.954 km ENE of Hualien City, Taiwan · 35 km deepTaiwan
  15. 6.819 km E of Katsuyama, Japan · 15 km deepJapan
  16. 6.8164 km ENE of Kashgar, China · 20 km deepChina
  17. 6.8180 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 15 km deepSolomon Islands
  18. 6.7Auckland Islands, New Zealand region · 15 km deepNew Zealand
  19. 6.796 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan · 30 km deepJapan
  20. 6.7194 km WSW of Quellón, Chile · 25 km deepChile
  21. 6.7189 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia · 32 km deepRussia
  22. 6.6179 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 35 km deepNew Caledonia
  23. 6.6119 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu · 35 km deepVanuatu
  24. 6.6180 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 35 km deepNew Caledonia
  25. 6.6119 km E of Macas, Ecuador · 142 km deepEcuador

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 1961617.293 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan
February 1961487.518 km NNE of Nichinan, Japan
March 1961577.0Kermadec Islands region
April 1961627.0151 km ENE of Kashgar, China
May 1961566.410 km WSW of Sarigerme, Turkey
June 1961636.444 km ENE of Ger?sh, Iran
July 1961727.363 km S of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
August 1961717.6132 km W of Iñapari, Peru
September 19611047.3South Sandwich Islands region
October 1961696.610 km W of Talcahuano, Chile
November 1961936.551 km SSW of Nemuro, Japan
December 1961706.7194 km WSW of Quellón, Chile

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.