March 31, 1898 Earthquake: Sonoma County, California, United States
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Sonoma County, California, United States on March 31, 1898 at 07:43 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
- March 31, 1898
- Time
- 07:43 UTC
- Place
- Sonoma County, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.200° N, 122.400° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
At Mare Island Naval Yard and Tubbs Island, several buildings either partly or totally collapsed. Property loss was estimated at $350,000. The earthqauke also caused severe damage at Schellville, Greenwood Estate, and along Petaluma Creek in Sonoma County, where houses were moved off their foundations. Extensive cracks dedveloped in the ground at Greenwood Estate, Mare Island Naval Yard, and Schellville. Moderate damage occurred in San Francisco. Felt north to Chico, east to Carson City, Nevada, and south to Monterey. (Reference #542)
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
- October 21, 1868, Hayward,san Francisco, California, United States
- August 24, 2014, Napa, Vallejo, California, United States
- October 2, 1969, Santa Rosa, California, United States
- September 3, 2000, Napa, California, United States
- March 7, 1865, E Central, Sonoma County, California, United States
- April 19, 1892, Vacaville,winters, California, United States
- June 10, 1836, 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
- February 10, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
- February 13, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
- July 20, 2007, Montclair, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1898The 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 2532.