March 2, 1871 Earthquake: Humboldt County, California, United States
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Humboldt County, California, United States on March 2, 1871 at 21:05 UTC.
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
- March 2, 1871
- Time
- 21:05 UTC
- Place
- Humboldt County, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (ML)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 40.400° N, 124.200° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 20, 2022, Humboldt County, California, United States
- June 6, 1932, Eureka, California, United States
- December 21, 1954, Humboldt County, California, United States
- April 25, 1992, Ferndale, Petrolia, Humboldt County, California, United States
- August 17, 1991, Honeydew, Whitethorn, Petrolia, California, United States
- March 20, 1855, Northern, California, United States
- December 26, 1994, Eureka, Samoa, Arcata, Blue Lake, California, United States
- January 10, 2010, Off Coast Northern, California, United States
- December 5, 2024, Offshore Cape Mendocino, California, United States
- January 22, 1923, Northern, California, United States
- October 1, 1865, Fort Humboldt, Eureka, California, United States
- November 8, 1980, North Coast, California, United States
- February 9, 1941, Northern, California, United States
- September 1, 1994, Honeydew, North, California, United States
- January 31, 1922, Northern, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1871The 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 2180.