November 23, 1873 Earthquake: Northern, California, United States
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Northern, California, United States on November 23, 1873 at 05:09 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 23, 1873
- Time
- 05:09 UTC
- Place
- Northern, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 6.7 (ML)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 42.000° N, 124.000° 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
The shock was strong enough to ring the town firebell and to set all the door bells in the town ringing. The earth opened in several places, some of the cracks extending a distance of thirty and foty yards. Considerable damage was done. All the brick buildins in town and crockery-ware suffered considerable damage. (The Humboldt Times, Eureka, December 1, 1873, p. 3). (above from Reference #237)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 21, 1993, Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States
- December 20, 2022, Humboldt County, California, United States
- December 21, 1954, Humboldt County, California, United States
- June 6, 1932, Eureka, California, United States
- November 8, 1980, North Coast, California, United States
- October 1, 1865, Fort Humboldt, Eureka, 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
- January 31, 1922, Northern, California, United States
- March 2, 1871, Humboldt County, California, United States
- June 15, 2005, Off Coast Northern, California, United States
- April 25, 1992, Ferndale, Petrolia, Humboldt County, California, United States
- January 22, 1923, Northern, California, United States
- February 9, 1941, Northern, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1873The 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 6179.