Historic Earthquakes

Imperial Valley, California
1892 02 24 07:20 UTC (local 02/23)
Magnitude 7.8

At the old Carrizo station in San Diego County, all adobe buildings were destroyed. In Paradise Valley, a church and schoolhouse built on stilts were knocked down and demolished; chimneys and plaster were broken in San Diego. Ground fissures were reported at McCain Valley and Jewel Valley; rockslides were observed between Campo and Carrizo and at Dulzura and Jewel Valley.

About 155 tremors were felt at Campo during the 12 hours following the main shock, and aftershocks continued there every few days into April 1892. Observers reported that 135 aftershocks were felt as far away as National City, on San Diego Bay. Felt north along the coast to Santa Barbara, east to Yuma, Arizona, and south to San Quintin, Baja California. One report stated that the tremor was felt at Visalia, Tulare County, about 700 kilometers north of San Quintin.

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.