All earthquakes

California earthquakes

73 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in California in the past 30 days: 12 in the past week and 0 in the past 24 hours. The largest: M4.7 85 km W of Petrolia, CA, Aug 28, 7:41 PM PDT. 520 smaller quakes were recorded in the past 7 days.

From the USGS, checked Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 7:09 PM PDT. Times are local to each quake.

Map

Where every quake below was located in California. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Past 30 days

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Smaller quakes, past 7 days

Under magnitude 2.5, which few people feel; the 150 most recent of 520.

Largest on record in California

The 25 largest in the USGS catalog since 1900, of magnitude 3 and up. Older magnitudes are estimates from historical accounts and early instruments.

Mag.	Date	Where	Depth
7.9	Apr 18, 1906	The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake	12 km
7.5	Jul 21, 1952	The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake	6 km
7.3	Jun 28, 1992	The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake	0 km
7.2	Nov 8, 1980	The 1980 Eureka, California Earthquake	19 km
7.2	Apr 25, 1992	The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake	10 km
7.1	Jan 22, 1923	The 1923 Humboldt County, California Earthquake	15 km
7.1	Oct 16, 1999	The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake	14 km
7.1	Jul 5, 2019	Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence	8 km
7.0	Dec 5, 2024	2024 Offshore Cape Mendocino, California Earthquake	10 km
6.9	Nov 4, 1927	The 1927 Lompoc, California Earthquake	10 km
6.9	May 18, 1940	The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake	6 km
6.9	Oct 17, 1989	The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake	17 km
6.8	Jun 29, 1925	The 1925 Santa Barbara, California Earthquake	10 km
6.8	Mar 9, 2014	77 km WNW of Indianola, California	16 km
6.7	Apr 21, 1918	The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake	10 km
6.7	May 2, 1983	The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake	10 km
6.7	Jan 17, 1994	Northridge, California, earthquake	18 km
6.6	Oct 21, 1942	The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake	6 km
6.6	Apr 8, 1968	The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake	10 km
6.6	Feb 9, 1971	1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California	9 km
6.6	Nov 24, 1987	The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake	11 km
6.6	Apr 26, 1992	32 km SW of Ferndale, California	22 km
6.5	Jul 14, 1918	52 km WNW of Big Lagoon, California	15 km
6.5	Mar 10, 1922	1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake
6.5	Apr 10, 1947	The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake	6 km

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

2020s2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
2010s2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2000s2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
1990s1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
1980s1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1970s1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1960s1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1950s1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1940s1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1930s1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1920s1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1910s1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1900s1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

What this means

Magnitude measures the energy a quake releases: each step up is about 32 times more energy, so an M6 releases about a thousand times the energy of an M4. Intensity measures the shaking at one place, which depends on the distance, the depth and the ground. One quake has one magnitude and many intensities.

The Modified Mercalli intensity scale
Intensity	Shaking	What people notice
I	Not felt	Recorded by instruments only.
II to III	Weak	Felt by a few people at rest, mostly on upper floors; hanging objects may swing.
IV	Light	Felt indoors by many. Dishes, windows and doors rattle; like a heavy truck passing.
V	Moderate	Felt by nearly everyone; sleepers wake. Some dishes break and unstable objects tip over.
VI	Strong	Felt by all; heavy furniture moves, plaster cracks. Damage is slight.
VII	Very strong	Damage slight to moderate in ordinary buildings, considerable in poorly built ones.
VIII	Severe	Considerable damage in ordinary buildings, with partial collapse; chimneys and walls fall.
IX and up	Violent to extreme	Heavy damage even in well-designed buildings; many shifted off foundations.

Did I just feel an earthquake?

A quake appears in these lists within minutes: a few for the US, up to twenty for a quake abroad. Search your town above, or open your state. If it was a quake, tell the USGS through its Did You Feel It? form. If shaking starts: drop, cover and hold on; stay indoors until it stops; near the coast, move to high ground after strong or long shaking without waiting for a warning.

By state

Every state, with the quakes of magnitude 2.5 or more located there in the past 30 days. Each state page adds the smaller quakes of the past week and its largest on record.

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.