October 21, 1868 Earthquake: Hayward,san Francisco, California, United States
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Hayward,san Francisco, California, United States on October 21, 1868 at 15:53:00 UTC. It killed 30 people, counting the tsunami it caused.
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
- October 21, 1868
- Time
- 15:53:00 UTC
- Place
- Hayward,san Francisco, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (ML)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 37.700° N, 122.100° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Deaths
- 30
- Damage
- $350,000
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100); Many (101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
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.
Because of its location in a highly populated area, this earthquake was one of the most destructive in the history of California. Property loss was extensive at towns in the San Francisco Bay area, and 30 people were killed. The total property loss was about $350,000. This earthquake was known as the "great San Francisco earthquake" until the shock on April 18, 1906. Compared to the 1906 shock, the fault trace of the 1868 earthquake--about 32 km--was much shorter, and the amount of movement (0.9 m--whether it was horizontal or vertical is not clear) was much less. Damage occurred from Gilroy and Santa Cruz on the south to Santa Rosa on the north. (Reference #542).The earthquake also generated a local tsunami.
Different Reports of Epicenters
TimeLatitudeLongitudeIntensityReference #15 5337.7N122.1WIX#54215 5337.5N122.0WX#112813 0737.8N122.3WX#1088
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 18, 1906, San Francisco, California, United States
- October 18, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, United States
- August 24, 2014, Napa, Vallejo, California, United States
- October 2, 1969, Santa Rosa, California, United States
- July 20, 2007, Montclair, California, United States
- September 24, 1859, Half Moon Bay, California, United States
- November 26, 1858, San Jose,san Francisco, California, United States
- July 4, 1861, Contra Costa,alameda Counties, California, United States
- February 15, 1856, Northern, California, United States
- May 15, 1851, Northern, California, United States
- October 22, 1854, Northern, California, United States
- October 22, 1855, San Francisco, California, United States
- June 1838, San Francisco,san Jose,santa Clara, California, United States
- February 10, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
- February 13, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1868The 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 2148.