Largest Earthquakes in the United States
50 States
Location | Date Time UTC | Magnitude | Damage Photos | Isoseismal Map |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Prince William Sound, Alaska | 1964 03 28 03:36:14.0 UTC | 9.2 | ||
2. | Cascadia subduction zone | 1700 01 26 UTC | 9 | ||
3. | Rat Islands, Alaska | 1965 02 04 05:01 UTC | 8.7 | ||
4. | Andreanof Islands, Alaska | 1957 03 09 14:22:31.9 UTC | 8.6 | ||
5. | East of Shumagin Islands, Alaska | 1938 11 10 20:18:41.2 UTC | 8.2 | ||
6. | Unimak Islands, Alaska | 1946 04 01 12:28 UTC | 8.1 | ||
7. | New Madrid, Missouri | 1811 12 16 08:15 UTC | 8.1 | ||
8. | Yakutat Bay, Alaska | 1899 09 10 21:41 UTC | 8.0 | ||
9. | New Madrid, Missouri | 1812 02 07 09:45 UTC | 8 | ||
10. | Denali Fault, Alaska | 2002 11 03 22:12 UTC | 7.9 | ||
11. | Gulf of Alaska, Alaska | 1987 11 30 19:23 UTC | 7.9 | ||
12. | Andreanof Islands, Alaska | 1986 05 07 22:47 UTC | 7.9 | ||
13. | Near Cape Yakataga, Alaska | 1899 09 04 00:22 UTC | 7.9 | ||
14. | Ka'u District, Island of Hawaii | 1868 04 03 02:25 UTC | 7.9 | ||
15. | Fort Tejon, California | 1857 01 09 16:24 UTC | 7.9 | ||
16. | Rat Islands, Alaska | 2003 11 17 06:43 UTC | 7.8 | ||
17. | Andreanof Islands, Alaska | 1996 06 10 04:03 UTC | 7.8 | ||
18. | San Francisco, California | 1906 04 18 13:12 UTC | 7.8 | ||
19. | Imperial Valley, California | 1892 02 24 07:20 UTC | 7.8 | ||
20. | New Madrid, Missouri | 1812 01 23 15:00 UTC | 7.8 |
48 States
Location | Date Time UTC | Magnitude | Damage Photos | Isoseismal Map |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Cascadia subduction zone | 1700 01 26 UTC | 9 | ||
2. | New Madrid, Missouri | 1811 12 16 08:15 UTC | 8.1 | ||
3. | New Madrid, Missouri | 1812 02 07 09:45 UTC | 8 | ||
4. | Fort Tejon, California | 1857 01 09 16:24 UTC | 7.9 | ||
5. | San Francisco, California | 1906 04 18 13:12 UTC | 7.8 | ||
6. | Imperial Valley, California | 1892 02 24 07:20 UTC | 7.8 | ||
7. | New Madrid, Missouri | 1812 01 23 15:00 UTC | 7.8 | ||
8. | Owens Valley, California | 1872 03 26 10:30 UTC | 7.4 | ||
9. | Landers, California | 1992 06 28 11:57 UTC | 7.3 | ||
10. | Hebgen Lake, Montana | 1959 08 18 06:37 UTC | 7.3 | ||
11. | Kern County, California | 1952 07 21 11:52 UTC | 7.3 | ||
12. | West of Eureka, California | 1922 01 31 13:17 UTC | 7.3 | ||
13. | Charleston, South Carolina | 1886 09 01 02:51 UTC | 7.3 | ||
14. | California - Oregon Coast | 1873 11 23 05:00 UTC | 7.3 | ||
15. | N Cascades, Washington | 1872 12 15 05:40 UTC | 7.3 |
Note: Widely differing magnitudes have been computed for some of these earthquakes; the values differ according to the methods and data used. For example, some sources list the magnitude of the 8.7 Rat Islands earthquake as low as 7.7. On the other hand, some sources list the magnitude of the February 7, 1812 New Madrid quake as high as 8.8. Similar variations exist for most events on this list, although generally not so large as for the examples given.
In general, the magnitudes given in the list above have been determined from the seismic moment, when available. For very large earthquakes, the moment magnitude is considered to be a more accurate determination than the traditional amplitude magnitude computation procedures. Note that all of these values can be called "magnitudes on the Richter scale," regardless of the method used to compute them.
Revisions
The Andreanof Islands, Alaska earthquake of 1957 03 09, previously listed with a magnitude of 9.1,
has had its magnitude reviewed, and it was updated to 8.6.
Revised June 07, 2005