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Earthquake Facts and Statistics

Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes Magnitude Average Annually 8 and higher 1 ¹ 7 - 7.9 17 ² 6 - 6.9 134 ² 5 - 5.9 1319 ² 4 - 4.9 13,000 (estimated) 3 - 3.9 130,000 (estimated) 2 - 2.9 1,300,000 (estimated) ¹ Based on observations since 1900. ² Based on observations since 1990.

Magnitude vs. Ground Motion and Energy Magnitude Change Ground Motion Change (Displacement) Energy Change 1.0 10.0 times about 32 times 0.5 3.2 times about 5.5 times 0.3 2.0 times about 3 times 0.1 1.3 times about 1.4 times This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake?

The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.

As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant. See: Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?

Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2008 Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
8.0 to 9.9	1	1	0	1	2	1	2	4	0
7.0 to 7.9	14	15	13	14	14	10	9	14	9
6.0 to 6.9	146	121	127	140	141	140	142	178	129
5.0 to 5.9	1344	1224	1201	1203	1514	1693	1712	2074	995
4.0 to 4.9	8008	7991	8541	8462	10888	13919	12838	12078	8370
3.0 to 3.9	4827	6266	7068	7624	7935	9193	9990	9889	7972
2.0 to 2.9	3765	4164	6419	7727	6317	4637	4027	3597	2457
1.0 to 1.9	1026	944	1137	2506	1344	26	18	42	10
0.1 to 0.9	5	1	10	134	103	0	2	2	0
No Magnitude	3120	2807	2938	3608	2942	864	828	1807	1130
Total	22256	23534	27454	31419	31200	30483	29568	* 29685	* 21072
Estimated Deaths	231	21357	1685	33819	228802	82364	6605	712	87795

Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2008 Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
8.0 to 9.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7.0 to 7.9	0	1	1	2	0	1	0	1	0
6.0 to 6.9	6	5	4	7	2	4	7	9	7
5.0 to 5.9	63	41	63	54	25	47	51	72	49
4.0 to 4.9	281	290	536	541	284	345	346	366	339
3.0 to 3.9	917	842	1535	1303	1364	1475	1213	1137	987
2.0 to 2.9	660	646	1228	704	1336	1738	1145	1173	981
1.0 to 1.9	0	2	2	2	1	2	7	11	4
0.1 to 0.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
No Magnitude	415	434	507	333	540	73	13	22	14
Total	2342	2261	3876	2946	3552	3685	* 2783	* 2791	* 2381
Estimated Deaths	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0

* As of 15 September 2008

Earthquake Information for the 1990s

Graphs of Earthquake Statistics

We detect, but generally do not locate, about 50 mine blasts (explosions) throughout the United States on any given business day. These blasts typically occur between noon and 6 PM local time Monday through Saturday. Of these, about one event every two days is large enough that we compute a location for the blast and post it to a separate explosions listing.