Historic Earthquakes

Eureka, California
1932 June 06 08:44:22 UTC
Magnitude 6.4

This earthquake, the strongest in the region since Jan. 22, 1923, killed one person at Eureka and injured several others. Property damage was severe at Eureka, where hundreds of chimneys were damaged and many fell, plate-glass windows were shattered, and water mains were broken. Several small houses were shaken down in Arcata, and most chimneys were damaged. Hardly a chimney remained standing at Fields Landing, and a 15-cm crack formed in the highway. Many chimneys also toppled at Loleta, where a brick wall was shaken into the street.

A 70-cm ground crack developed on Cock Robin Island, at the mouth of the Eel River, and many blowholes, some as much as 2.5 meters in diameter, were observed. Felt north to Coos Bay, Oregon, south to San Jose, and east to Nevada City (Neada County). Several aftershocks occurred.

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.