May 27, 1862 Earthquake: San Diego, California, United States
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck San Diego, California, United States on May 27, 1862. 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
- May 27, 1862
- Place
- San Diego, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (ML)
- Intensity
- VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 32.700° N, 117.200° W
- Country
- United States
- Region
- North America and Hawaii
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
This strong earthquake caused widespread minor damage in the Old Town and La Playa areas of San Diego. Many adobe and brick buildings sustained cracks, some of which extended completely through the walls. In some frame buildings, windows and doors were loosened in their frames and some door hinges were broken off.
Landslides occurred along the steep bluffs from La Playa to Point Loma. At La Playa, cracks formed on the beach, and water was emitted from the sand on the tidal flats. Water from the bay surged inland over the beach between 3 and 4 ft (0.9-1.2 m). Cracks also formed in the wet, sandy ground near the San Diego River, which "washed over its banks." The earthquake was felt north to Anaheim and Los Angeles. About 100 aftershocks occurred at San Diego to June 14, 1862. (Ref. 38, 56, 368, 532, 610.)
Maximum observed Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VII
Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.
From the USGS event page for cdmg18620527200000000. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2 | Mw, moment | CDMG | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.9 | ML, local (Richter) | USGS historic United States catalog | Final |
References for the magnitude and location
The USGS’s notes on how this earthquake’s official magnitude and location were set.
Magnitude updated 08-Aug-2021
Reference:
California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey
Downloadable list of magnitude 5.0 and greater earthquakes from 1800 to 2017
online at https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Pages/Earthquakes/earthquake-catalog.aspx
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake at San Diego caused a local tsunami.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #237 Lander, James F., Patricia A. Lockridge, and Michael J. Kozuch (1993). Tsunamis affecting the West Coast of the United States, 1806-1992, KGRD no. 29, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA, September, 242 p.
- #542 Stover, Carl W., and Jerry L. Coffman (1993). Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 418 p.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 11, 1933, Long Beach, California, United States
- December 8, 1812, San Juan Capistrano, California, United States
- May 19, 1940, California, Mexico, United States
- October 1, 1987, Whittier, California, United States
- December 25, 1899, California, United States
- June 23, 1915, El Centro, California, United States
- June 28, 1992, Landers, Yucca Valley, California, United States
- November 24, 1987, Superstition Hills, California, United States
- April 4, 2010, Baja California, Mexico
- June 28, 1991, Arcadia, Glendale, Los Angeles, California, United States
- April 21, 1918, San Jacinto, Hemet, California, United States
- January 1, 1927, California, Mexico, United States
- October 4, 1987, Whittier, Pasadena, California, United States
- August 31, 1930, Southern, California, United States
- July 13, 1986, San Diego, Newport Beach, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1862The 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6978. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event cdmg18620527200000000, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.