November 13, 1851 Earthquake: Northern, California, United States
An earthquake struck Northern, California, United States on November 13, 1851 at 02:51:00 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
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
- November 13, 1851
- Time
- 02:51:00 UTC
- Place
- Northern, California, United States
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 40.000° N, 122.000° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1851, November 13, 19:00 (local time). There was a shock at San Francisco; on board ship, "unusual movement of water" was felt. [It is possible that this was a seaquake] (Reference #415).
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 2, 1969, Santa Rosa, California, United States
- December 21, 1954, Humboldt County, California, United States
- August 1, 1975, Oroville, California, United States
- April 21, 1892, Winters, California, United States
- March 7, 1865, E Central, Sonoma County, California, United States
- April 19, 1892, Vacaville,winters, California, United States
- September 3, 2000, Napa, California, United States
- April 26, 2008, Fallon, Nevada, United States
- March 2, 1871, Humboldt County, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1851The 1800sRecent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 6065.