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Japan earthquakes in 1959

21 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in Japan in 1959. The largest: M7.0 117 km E of Namie, Japan, Jan 22, 1959.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19581960

Map

Where every quake of 1959 was located in Japan. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1959

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 195967.0117 km E of Namie, Japan
February 195916.0102 km NNE of Nago, Japan
March 195946.6129 km S of Naze, Japan
April 195926.954 km NW of Yonakuni, Japan
May 19590
June 195925.846 km E of Nichinan, Japan
July 19590
August 19590
September 195935.890 km ESE of Katsuren-haebaru, Japan
October 195916.5177 km E of Namie, Japan
November 195926.572 km W of Rumoi, Japan
December 19590

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Japan nowWorldwide in 1959

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.