Significant earthquakes of 1757

April 15, 1757 Earthquake: Sale, Cape Cantin, Morocco

April 15, 1757 · 3,000 deaths

An earthquake struck Sale, Cape Cantin, Morocco on April 15, 1757. It killed 3,000 people.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date
April 15, 1757
Place
Sale, Cape Cantin, Morocco
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
34.000° N, 6.800° W
Country
Morocco
Region
Northern Africa

The toll

Deaths
3,000
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

April 15, 1757, A strong earthquake in Sale and on Cape Contain. (reference #1183)

April 15, 1757, Widespread damage in western Morocco from

offshore earthquake, 3000 deaths. (reference #1180)

April or May 15, 1757, Sale, Morocco, on the coast, intensity I which corresponds to an earthquake of intensity sufficient to crack walls, break chimneys, to shatter old buildings or to produce cracks in the ground.

(reference #1055)

1757, in Sale and Cape Cantin, many buildings were destroyed. (reference #1201)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #1183 Committee of Structural Steel Producers of American Iron and Steel Institute (1962). The Agadir, Morocco Earthquake February 29, 1960. American Iron and Steel Institute, New York, NY, 112 p.
  2. #1055 Milne, John (1911). Catalogue of Destructive Earthquakes [7 to 1899 A.D.], Report of the 81st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Portsmouth, London, United Kingdom, p. 649-740.
  3. #1180 UNESCO (1983). Programme for Assessment and Mitigation of Earthquake Risk in the Arab Region. Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Islamic Development Bank, UNESCO, 162 p.
  4. #1201 Rothe, J.P. (1970). Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord. Mission d'information seismologique, No de serie 1759, UNESCO, Paris, France, 45 p.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1757The 1700sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 1346.