All earthquakes

Earthquakes in 1983

The USGS located 4,093 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more worldwide in 1983, 136 of them magnitude 6 or more, and 4,066 of magnitude 2.5 or more in the United States. The largest: M7.6 157 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, Mar 18, 1983.

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.

19821984

Map

Where the largest earthquakes of 1983 were located. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The largest

The 25 largest of 1983, by magnitude.

  1. 7.6157 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea · 89 km deepPapua New Guinea
  2. 7.455 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan · 215 km deepAfghanistan
  3. 7.454 km WSW of Diego de Almagro, Chile · 15 km deepChile
  4. 7.483 km WNW of Noshiro, Japan · 24 km deepJapan
  5. 7.3Chagos Archipelago region · 10 km deep
  6. 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 179 km deepTimor Leste
  7. 7.2South Sandwich Islands region · 24 km deepSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  8. 7.157 km SSE of Klyuchi, Russia · 63 km deepRussia
  9. 7.112 km N of Golfito, Costa Rica · 37 km deepCosta Rica
  10. 7.025 km S of Champerico, Guatemala · 67 km deepGuatemala
  11. 7.095 km ESE of Kh?sh, Iran · 64 km deepIran
  12. 7.092 km NNE of La Peca, Peru · 104 km deepPeru
  13. 7.0Kermadec Islands region · 238 km deep
  14. 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, Greece · 14 km deepGreece
  15. 6.938 km SE of Suncho Corral, Argentina · 602 km deepArgentina
  16. 6.9The 1983 Borah Peak Earthquake, Idaho · 10 km deepIdaho
  17. 6.9South Shetland Islands · 10 km deep
  18. 6.943 km W of Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam · 33 km deepVietnam
  19. 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, Indonesia · 79 km deepIndonesia
  20. 6.977 km SE of Palca, Peru · 146 km deepPeru
  21. 6.827 km E of Narman, Turkey · 12 km deepTurkey
  22. 6.839 km NW of Mýrina, Greece · 2 km deepGreece
  23. 6.8166 km NE of Bamboo Flat, India · 78 km deepIndia
  24. 6.722 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 9 km deepHawaii
  25. 6.753 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, Chile · 16 km deepChile

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19839047.0Kermadec Islands region
February 19834796.977 km SE of Palca, Peru
March 19835007.6157 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
April 19835057.112 km N of Golfito, Costa Rica
May 19831,2997.483 km WNW of Noshiro, Japan
June 19835726.943 km W of Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam
July 19837436.9South Shetland Islands
August 19835717.157 km SSE of Klyuchi, Russia
September 19835276.7266 km SSE of Alo, Wallis and Futuna
October 19835297.454 km WSW of Diego de Almagro, Chile
November 19836477.3Chagos Archipelago region
December 19836367.455 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan

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.