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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 - 2009 Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
8.0 to 9.9	1	1	0	1	2	1	2	4	0	0
7.0 to 7.9	14	15	13	14	14	10	9	14	12	9
6.0 to 6.9	146	121	127	140	141	140	142	178	168	68
5.0 to 5.9	1344	1224	1201	1203	1515	1693	1712	2074	1753	895
4.0 to 4.9	8008	7991	8541	8462	10888	13917	12838	12078	12310	4100
3.0 to 3.9	4827	6266	7068	7624	7932	9191	9990	9889	11741	1654
2.0 to 2.9	3765	4164	6419	7727	6316	4636	4027	3597	3878	1635
1.0 to 1.9	1026	944	1137	2506	1344	26	18	42	22	12
0.1 to 0.9	5	1	10	134	103	0	2	2	0	1
No Magnitude	3120	2807	2938	3608	2939	864	828	1807	1924	20
Total	22256	23534	27454	31419	31194	30478	29568	29685	* 31808	* 8394
Estimated Deaths	231	21357	1685	33819	228802	82364	6605	712	88011	373

Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2009 Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
8.0 to 9.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7.0 to 7.9	0	1	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	0
6.0 to 6.9	6	5	4	7	2	4	7	9	9	1
5.0 to 5.9	63	41	63	54	25	47	51	72	85	26
4.0 to 4.9	281	290	536	541	284	345	346	366	432	182
3.0 to 3.9	917	842	1535	1303	1362	1475	1213	1137	1485	789
2.0 to 2.9	660	646	1228	704	1336	1738	1145	1173	1579	1273
1.0 to 1.9	0	2	2	2	1	2	7	11	14	12
0.1 to 0.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
No Magnitude	415	434	507	333	540	73	13	22	20	14
Total	2342	2261	3876	2946	3550	3685	2783	2791	* 3624	* 2298
Estimated Deaths	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0

* As of 13 August 2009

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.