List of earthquakes in California - wikipedia List of earthquakes in California Probabilistic seismic hazard map Although the written history of California is not long, records of earthquakes exist that affected the Spanish missions that were constructed beginning in the late 18th century. Those records ceased when the missions were secularized in 1834, and from that point until the California Gold Rush in the 1840s, records were sparse. Other sources for the occurrence of earthquakes usually came from ship captains and other explorers. The earliest known earthquake was documented in 1769 by the Spanish explorers and Catholic missionaries of the Portolá expedition as they traveled northward from San Diego along the Santa Ana River near the present site of Los Angeles. For the period 1850 -- 2004, there was about one potentially damaging event per year on average, though many of these did not cause loss of life or property damage. The few damaging earthquakes that occurred in the American Midwest and the East Coast were well known ( 1755 Cape Ann, 1811 -- 12 New Madrid, 1886 Charleston ), and it became apparent to settlers that the earthquake hazard situation was much different in the West. While the 1812 San Juan Capistrano, 1857 Fort Tejon, and 1872 Lone Pine shocks were only moderately destructive in mostly unpopulated areas, the 1868 Hayward event affected the thriving financial hub that is the San Francisco Bay Area, with damage from Santa Rosa in the north to Santa Cruz in the south. By this time, scientists were well aware of the threat, but seismology was still in its infancy. Reactions following destructive events in the late 19th and early 20th centuries included real estate developers, press, and boosters minimizing and downplaying the risk out of fear that the ongoing economic boom would be negatively affected. California earthquakes ( 1769 -- 2000 ) According to seismologist Charles Richter, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake moved the United States Government into acknowledging the problem. Prior to that, no agency was specifically focused on researching earthquake activity. The United States Weather Bureau did record when they happened and several United States Geological Survey scientists had briefly disengaged from their regular duties of mapping mineral resources to write reports on the New Madrid and Charleston events, but no trained geologists were working on the problem until the Coast and Geodetic Survey was made responsible after 1906. The outlook improved when professor Andrew Lawson brought the state 's first monitoring program online at the University of California, Berkeley in 1910 with seismologist Harry Wood, who was later instrumental in getting the Caltech Seismological Laboratory operational in the 1920s. Early developments at the Caltech lab in Pasadena included an earthquake observation network using their own custom built short period seismometers, the Richter magnitude scale, and an updated version of the Mercalli intensity scale. In 1933, the Long Beach earthquake occurred in a populated area and damaged or destroyed a large number of public school buildings in Long Beach and Los Angeles. Some decades later, the San Fernando earthquake affected the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles with heavy damage to several hospitals. In both cases, the perception of those involved with policy making in California was changed, and state laws and building codes were modified ( but not without much debate ) to require commercial and residential properties to be built to withstand earthquakes. Higher standards were established for fire stations, hospitals, and schools and construction of dwellings was also restricted near known active faults. Contents 1 Tectonic setting 2 Earthquakes 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Tectonic setting See also : Los Angeles Basin, Mendocino Fracture Zone, and Salton Trough During the last 66 million years, nearly the entire west coast of North America was dominated by a subduction zone, with the Farallon Plate subducting beneath the North American Plate. Presently, the Juan de Fuca Plate ( with its Explorer and Gorda satellite plates ) and the Rivera and Cocos Plates are the only remnants of the once much larger Farallon Plate. The plate margin that remains in California is that of the strike - slip San Andreas Fault ( SAF ), the diffuse Pacific -- North American plate boundary that extends east into the Basin and Range Province of eastern California and western Nevada ( a seismically active area called Walker Lane ) and southwest into the California Continental Borderland region off the central and southern coasts. This system of faults terminates in the north at the Mendocino Triple Junction, one of the most seismically active regions in the state, where earthquakes are occasionally the result of intraplate deformation within the Gorda Plate. It terminates in the south at the Salton Sea where displacement transitions to a series of spreading centers and transform faults, beginning with the Brawley Seismic Zone in the Imperial Valley. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Andreas system of faults spans offshore and into the East Bay area, with the bulk of the faults lying to the east of the main SAF. There is a 70 % probability that one of these faults will generate a M6. 7 or greater earthquake before 2030, including the Hayward Fault Zone, which has gone beyond its average return period of 130 years ( 150 years as of 2018 ). While the SAF north of San Francisco is quiet, the central SAF segment near San Juan Bautista is where fault creep was first studied, and to the south is where the recurring Parkfield earthquakes occur. The secondary faults lay to the west of the main SAF at the extreme southern portion, including the active and young San Jacinto Fault Zone, which may be taking over as the primary boundary south of Cajon Pass. A paleoseismic investigation using Lidar revealed that more than 5 meters ( 16 ft ) of slip has accumulated since the 1857 event on the southern SAF, which borders the Mojave Desert to the north and east of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Near the Transverse Ranges, reverse and thrust faults have produced damaging earthquakes in Santa Barbara and the San Fernando Valley. Earthquakes Date Name Area Mag. MMI Deaths Injuries Total damage / notes 2014 - 08 - 24 South Napa North Bay 6.0 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII ~ 200 $362 m -- $1 b 2014 - 03 - 28 La Habra LA Area 5.1 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI Few $10.8 m 2013 - 05 - 13 Canyondam Eastern 5.7 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII dmge : Canyondam 2010 - 04 - 04 Baja California Baja California 7.2 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 2 -- 4 100 -- 233 $1.15 b 2010 - 01 - 09 Eureka North Coast 6.5 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI 35 $21.8 -- 43 m 2008 - 07 - 29 Chino Hills LA Area 5.5 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI 8 Limited 2007 - 10 - 30 Alum Rock South Bay 5.6 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI Limited 2003 - 12 - 22 San Simeon Central Coast 6.6 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 40 $250 -- 300 m 2000 - 09 - 03 Yountville North Bay 5.0 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 41 $10 -- 50 m 1999 - 10 - 16 Hector Mine Eastern 7.1 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 4 -- 5 Limited 1994 - 12 - 26 Samoa North Coast 5.5 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII $2.1 -- 5 m 1994 - 01 - 17 Northridge LA Area 6.7 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 57 8,700 + $13 -- $40 b 1992 - 06 - 28 Big Bear Inland Empire 6.5 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Some Moderate / triggered 1992 - 06 - 28 Landers Inland Empire 7.3 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 400 + $92 m 1992 - 04 - 26 Cape Mendocino North Coast 6.6 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII dmge / triggered 1992 - 04 - 26 Cape Mendocino North Coast 6.5 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII dmge / triggered 1992 - 04 - 25 Cape Mendocino North Coast 7.2 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 98 -- 356 $48.3 -- 75 m / tsunami 1992 - 04 - 22 Joshua Tree Inland Empire 6.3 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 32 Light -- moderate 1991 - 06 - 28 Sierra Madre LA Area 5.6 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 100 -- 107 $33.5 -- 40 m 1990 - 02 - 28 Upland LA Area 5.7 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 30 $12.7 m 1989 - 10 - 17 Loma Prieta Santa Cruz Mts 6.9 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 63 3,757 $5.6 -- 6 b / tsunami 1989 - 08 - 08 Loma Prieta Santa Cruz Mts 5.4 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII Minor 1987 - 11 - 24 Elmore Ranch Imperial Valley 6.5 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII Triggered 1987 - 11 - 23 Superstition Hills Imperial Valley 6.1 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI $3 m 1987 - 10 - 01 Whittier LA Area 5.9 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 8 200 $213 -- 358 m 1986 - 07 - 21 Chalfant Valley Eastern 6.2 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI $2.7 m / sequence 1986 - 07 - 13 Oceanside South Coast 5.8 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI $700 K 1986 - 07 - 08 N. Palm Springs Inland Empire 6.0 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 29 -- 40 $4.5 -- 6 m 1986 - 03 - 31 Mt Lewis South Bay 5.6 M 7000600000000000000 ♠ VI 6 Minor 1984 - 04 - 24 Morgan Hill South Bay 6.2 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 21 -- 27 $7.5 -- 8 m 1983 - 05 - 02 Coalinga Central Valley 6.2 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 94 $10 m 1981 - 04 - 26 Westmorland Imperial Valley 5.9 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII $1 -- 3 m 1980 - 11 - 08 Eureka North Coast 7.3 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 6 $2 -- 2.75 m 1980 - 05 - 25 Mammoth Lakes Eastern 6.2 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 9 $1.5 m / swarm 1980 - 01 - 26 Livermore East Bay 5.4 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII Doublet 1980 - 01 - 24 Livermore East Bay 5.8 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII $11.5 m / doublet 1979 - 10 - 15 Imperial Valley Imperial Valley 6.4 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 91 $30 m 1979 - 08 - 06 Coyote Lake South Bay 5.7 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 16 $500 K 1978 - 08 - 13 Santa Barbara Central Coast 5.8 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 65 $12 m 1975 - 08 - 01 Butte County Butte County 5.7 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 10 $3 m 1973 - 02 - 21 Point Mugu South Coast 5.8 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII Several $1 m 1971 - 02 - 09 San Fernando LA Area 6.6 M 7001110000000000000 ♠ XI 58 -- 65 200 -- 2,000 $505 -- 553 m 1969 - 10 - 01 Santa Rosa North Bay 5.7 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Doublet 1969 - 10 - 01 Santa Rosa North Bay 5.6 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII $8.35 m / doublet 1968 - 04 - 08 Borrego Mtn Imperial Valley 6.5 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII dmge / rockslides 1957 - 03 - 22 San Francisco Bay Area 5.7 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII 40 $1 m 1954 - 12 - 21 North Coast Eureka 6.5 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII Several $2.1 m 1952 - 08 - 22 Kern County Central Valley 5.8 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Several $10 m 1952 - 07 - 21 Kern County Central Valley 7.3 M 7001110000000000000 ♠ XI 12 Hundreds $60 m 1948 - 12 - 04 Desert Hot Springs Inland Empire 6.4 M 7000700000000000000 ♠ VII Several Minor 1941 - 11 - 14 Torrance -- Gardena LA Area 5.4 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII $1.1 m 1941 - 06 - 30 Santa Barbara Central Coast 5.9 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII $100 K 1940 - 05 - 18 El Centro Imperial Valley 6.9 M 7001100000000000000 ♠ X 9 20 $6 m 1933 - 03 - 10 Long Beach South Coast 6.4 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 115 -- 120 $40 m 1932 - 06 - 06 Eureka North Coast 6.4 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Severe 1927 - 11 - 04 Lompoc Central Coast 7.3 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Moderate / tsunami 1925 - 06 - 29 Santa Barbara Central Coast 6.8 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 13 $8 m 1923 - 01 - 22 Humboldt County North Coast 7.2 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Severe / tsunami 1920 - 06 - 21 Inglewood LA Area 4.9 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII More than $100 K 1918 - 04 - 21 San Jacinto Inland Empire 6.7 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX Several $200 K 1915 - 06 - 22 Imperial Valley Imperial Valley 5.5 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII add'l dmge / doublet 1915 - 06 - 22 Imperial Valley Imperial Valley 5.5 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII 6 $900 K / doublet 1911 - 07 - 01 Calaveras South Bay 6.6 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII dmge : Lick Observatory 1906 - 04 - 18 Imperial Valley Imperial Valley 6.3 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII dmge / triggered 1906 - 04 - 18 San Francisco Northern -- Central 7.9 M 7001110000000000000 ♠ XI 700 -- 3,000 + Conflagration / tsunami 1899 - 12 - 25 San Jacinto Inland Empire 6.7 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 6 $50 K or more 1898 - 03 - 30 Mare Island North Bay 5.8 -- 6.4 M 7000850000000000000 ♠ VIII -- IX $350 K / moderate 1892 - 04 - 21 Vacaville -- Winters Central Valley 6.2 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX Doublet 1892 - 04 - 19 Vacaville -- Winters North Bay 6.4 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX $225 K -- 250K / doublet 1892 - 02 - 23 Laguna Salada Baja California 7.1 -- 7.2 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Moderate 1873 - 11 - 23 Crescent City North Coast 6.7 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII dmge / ground cracks 1872 - 03 - 26 Lone Pine Eastern 7.4 -- 7.9 M 7001100000000000000 ♠ X 27 56 $250 K / limited 1868 - 10 - 21 Hayward Bay Area 6.3 -- 6.7 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX 30 $350 K / moderate 1865 - 10 - 08 Santa Cruz Mts Santa Cruz Mts 6.3 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII $500 K 1857 - 01 - 09 Fort Tejon Central -- Southern 7.9 M 7000900000000000000 ♠ IX Severe 1838 - 06 - ? ? San Andreas Bay Area 6.8 -- 7.2 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Minor 1812 - 12 - 21 Ventura Central Coast 7.1 M 7000800000000000000 ♠ VIII Tsunami 1812 - 12 - 08 San Juan Capistrano South Coast 6.9 -- 7.5 7000800000000000000 ♠ VII -- IX 40 Moderate Stover & Coffman 1993 uses various seismic scales. M is a local magnitude that is equivalent to M ( Richter magnitude scale ) and is used for events that occurred prior to the instrumental period. It is based on the area of perceptibility ( as presented on isoseismal maps ). M = moment magnitude scale and M = surface wave magnitude. The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes ' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described are also applicable to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. dmge = damage, m = million, b = billion See also Alquist Priolo Special Studies Zone Act California earthquake forecast Field Act Geography of California Southern California Earthquake Center Timeline of the Portolá expedition References Jump up ^ Toppozada, T.R. ; Branum, D. ( 2004 ), `` California earthquake history '', Annals of Geophysics, Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Vulcanologia, 47 ( 2 -- 3 ) : 509 -- 512 Jump up ^ Ellsworth, W.L. ( 1990 ), `` Earthquake history, 1769 -- 1989 '', The San Andreas Fault System, California -- USGS Professional Paper 1515, United States Geological Survey, pp. 156, 157, ISBN 978 - 0607716269 ^ Jump up to : Hough, S.E. ( 2007 ), Richter 's Scale : Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man, Princeton University Press, pp. 51 -- 61, ISBN 978 - 0691128078 ^ Jump up to : Geschwind, C. ( 2001 ). California Earthquakes : Science, Risk, and the Politics of Hazard Mitigation. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 3 -- 22, 105 -- 114, 165, 181. ISBN 978 - 0801865961. ^ Jump up to : Goodstein, J.R. ( 2006 ), Millikan 's School : A History of the California Institute of Technology, W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 125 -- 152, ISBN 978 - 0393329988 ^ Jump up to : Yeats, R. ( 2012 ), Active Faults of the World, Cambridge University Press, pp. 19, 80 -- 83, 89 -- 94, 96 -- 114, ISBN 978 - 0521190855 ^ Jump up to : National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service ( NGDC / WDS ), Significant Earthquake Database, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi : 10.7289 / V5TD9V7K Jump up ^ Chapman, K. ; Gold, M.B. ; Boatwright, J. ; Sipe, J. ; Quitoriano, V. ; Dreger, D. ; Hardebeck, J. ( 2016 ), Faulting, Damage, and Intensity in the Canyondam Earthquake of May 23, 2013, U.S. Geological Survey Open - File Report 2016 - 1145, pp. 1, 13, doi : 10.3133 / ofr20161145 ^ Jump up to : Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 98, 179, 180 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 97, 177 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 97, 176, 177 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 96, 168, 169 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 95, 168 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 95, 166, 167 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 94, 166, 167 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 94, 163 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 91, 154 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 88, 148 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 82, 137 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 82, 136 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 77, 128 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 77, 125 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 76, 124 ^ Jump up to : Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 76, 121 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 75, 120 Jump up ^ Meltzner, A.J. ; Wald, D.J. ( 2003 ), `` Aftershocks and Triggered Events of the Great 1906 California Earthquake '', Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Seismological Society of America, 93 ( 5 ) : 2,160, 2,164, 2,166, 2,169, 2,170, doi : 10.1785 / 0120020033 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 75, 105 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 74, 113 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 73, 108 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 73, 104 Jump up ^ Stover & Coffman 1993, pp. 72, 100 Sources Stover, C.W. ; Coffman, J.L. ( 1993 ), Seismicity of the United States, 1568 -- 1989 ( Revised ), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office Wood, H.O. ( 1916 ), `` The earthquake problem in the western United States '', Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Seismological Society of America, 6 ( 4 ) : 197 -- 217 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Earthquakes in California. Look up earthquake in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Information by Region - California -- USGS Southern California Earthquake Data Center Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country -- Earthquake Country Alliance Broadband Seismic Data Collection Center -- University of California, San Diego What Will Happen After The ' Big One ' Hits SoCal ? -- KCET Little - known quake, tsunami hazards lurk offshore of Southern California -- American Geophysical Union California 's other drought : A major earthquake is overdue -- The Conversation New California bill aims to create a public inventory of collapse - risk buildings -- Temblor, Inc. Earthquakes in California Very Large ( 7.0 -- 7.9 ) 1812 San Juan Capistrano ( 6.9 -- 7.5 ) 1838 San Andreas ( 6.8 -- 7.2 ) 1857 Fort Tejon ( 7.9 ) 1872 Lone Pine ( 7.4 -- 7.9 ) 1892 Laguna Salada ( 7.1 -- 7.2 ) 1906 San Francisco ( 7.8 ) 1952 Kern County ( 7.3 ) 1980 Eureka ( 7.3 ) 1992 Cape Mendocino ( 7.2 ) 1992 Landers ( 7.3 ) 1999 Hector Mine ( 7.1 ) 2010 Baja California ( 7.2 ) Large ( 6.0 -- 6.9 ) 1868 Hayward ( 6.3 -- 6.7 ) 1892 Vacaville -- Winters ( 6.4, 6.2 ) 1898 Mare Island ( 5.8 -- 6.4 ) 1918 San Jacinto ( 6.7 ) 1925 Santa Barbara ( 6.8 ) 1932 Eureka ( 6.4 ) 1933 Long Beach ( 6.4 ) 1940 El Centro ( 6.9 ) 1948 Desert Hot Springs ( 6.4 ) 1971 San Fernando ( 6.5 -- 6.7 ) 1979 Imperial Valley ( 6.4 ) 1983 Coalinga ( 6.2 ) 1984 Morgan Hill ( 6.2 ) 1986 North Palm Springs ( 6.0 ) 1986 Chalfant Valley ( 6.2 ) 1989 Loma Prieta ( 6.9 ) 1992 Big Bear ( 6.5 ) 1994 Northridge ( 6.7 ) 2003 San Simeon ( 6.6 ) 2010 Eureka ( 6.5 ) 2014 South Napa ( 6.0 ) Moderate ( 5.0 -- 5.9 ) 1957 San Francisco ( 5.7 ) 1969 Santa Rosa ( 5.6, 5.7 ) 1973 Point Mugu ( 5.8 ) 1979 Coyote Lake ( 5.7 ) 1987 Whittier Narrows ( 5.9 ) 1990 Upland ( 5.7 ) 1991 Sierra Madre ( 5.6 ) 2000 Yountville ( 5.0 ) 2007 Alum Rock ( 5.6 ) 2008 Chino Hills ( 5.5 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_earthquakes_in_California&oldid=843568508 '' Categories : Earthquakes in California California history - related lists California nature - related lists Natural disasters in California California - related lists Lists of earthquakes in the United States Tsunamis in the United States Hidden categories : M mag M la ML M w M s Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 30 May 2018, at 00 : 33. 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Question: what was the date of the largest earthquake recorded in california
Answer: 1857-01-09