All earthquakes

Earthquakes in 1985

The USGS located 4,549 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more worldwide in 1985, 160 of them magnitude 6 or more, and 2,669 of magnitude 2.5 or more in the United States. The largest: M8.0 1985 Michoacan, Mexico Earthquake, Sep 19, 1985.

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.

19841986

Map

Where the largest earthquakes of 1985 were located. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The largest

The 25 largest of 1985, by magnitude.

  1. 8.01985 Michoacan, Mexico Earthquake · 28 km deepMexico
  2. 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, Chile · 33 km deepChile
  3. 7.67 km N of Pantla, Mexico · 31 km deepMexico
  4. 7.475 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan · 99 km deepAfghanistan
  5. 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, Chile · 33 km deepChile
  6. 7.362 km E of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea · 33 km deepPapua New Guinea
  7. 7.2100 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea · 27 km deepPapua New Guinea
  8. 7.259 km S of San Antonio, Chile · 38 km deepChile
  9. 7.1112 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 43 km deepVanuatu
  10. 7.1127 km SE of Manokwari, Indonesia · 10 km deepIndonesia
  11. 7.0148 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 33 km deepVanuatu
  12. 7.0142 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 33 km deepVanuatu
  13. 7.066 km W of Kashgar, China · 7 km deepChina
  14. 7.01 km ENE of Santo Cristo, Philippines · 188 km deepPhilippines
  15. 7.0142 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia · 51 km deepIndonesia
  16. 6.9Northwest Territories, Canada · 6 km deepCanada
  17. 6.9south of the Kermadec Islands · 52 km deep
  18. 6.9214 km SSE of Sofifi, Indonesia · 33 km deepIndonesia
  19. 6.885 km W of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea · 49 km deepPapua New Guinea
  20. 6.7Northwest Territories, Canada · 10 km deepCanada
  21. 6.721 km SE of Malango, Solomon Islands · 32 km deepSolomon Islands
  22. 6.7Tonga · 33 km deepTonga
  23. 6.718 km S of Valparaíso, Chile · 42 km deepChile
  24. 6.735 km WNW of Hacienda La Calera, Chile · 33 km deepChile
  25. 6.7112 km N of Rantepao, Indonesia · 44 km deepIndonesia

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19855416.9214 km SSE of Sofifi, Indonesia
February 19854796.389 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
March 19856468.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, Chile
April 19855317.259 km S of San Antonio, Chile
May 19856897.2100 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
June 19855776.7Tonga
July 19855407.475 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan
August 19856447.066 km W of Kashgar, China
September 19856118.01985 Michoacan, Mexico Earthquake
October 19855576.7Northwest Territories, Canada
November 19855417.1127 km SE of Manokwari, Indonesia
December 19855637.1112 km W of Sola, Vanuatu

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.