All earthquakesHawaii

Hawaii earthquakes in 1959

118 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Hawaii in 1959. The largest: M4.6 33 km E of Hana, Hawaii, Oct 4, 1959.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19581960

Map

Where every quake of 1959 was located in Hawaii. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1959

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

The largest

The 25 largest of 1959 in Hawaii.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19590
February 195914.512 km S of Fern Forest, Hawaii
March 19590
April 19590
May 19590
June 19590
July 19590
August 19590
September 19590
October 1959174.633 km E of Hana, Hawaii
November 1959254.422 km ENE of Hala‘ula, Hawaii
December 1959753.79 km WSW of P?hala, Hawaii

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.

Nearby

Hawaii nowWorldwide in 1959

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.