Legend
US top 10 by magnitude (10)
Largest outside Alaska (10)
Largest in each state and Puerto Rico (62 epicentres)
California top 10 (10)
DisasterAWARE archive: M7+ since 2014 (12)
ShakeMap MMI contour (V–VIII)
MMI IV light (fades at the edge of each ShakeMap's area)
MMI V moderate
MMI VI strong
MMI VII very strong
MMI VIII severe
MMI IX violent (no X reached)
Fault section USGS ties to a listed earthquake
Other section of the same fault
New Madrid seismic zone (USGS fault area)
DYFI felt intensity: same colours as the ShakeMap shading (IV–IX); pale = I–III
No DYFI for any mapped earthquake before 1952, nor for 1954 Fairview Peak (NV), 1957 Andreanof Islands, 1959 Hebgen Lake (MT), the 1959 M6.5 Hebgen Lake aftershock (WY), 1962 Lincoln (VT), 1965 Rat Islands, 1968 Huff (ND), 1974 West Warwick (RI), 1975 Kalapana (HI), 1975 Morris (MN), 1976 Portsmouth (RI), 1978 off Rhode Island, 1980 Eureka (CA), 1998 Pymatuning (PA)
Aftershock M6.0 or more
Aftershock M5.0–5.9
Aftershock M4.0–4.9
Aftershock M3.0–3.9
Aftershock under M3.0
Tsunami height 10 m or more
Tsunami height 5–9.9 m
Tsunami height 1–4.9 m
Tsunami height under 1 m
Tsunami height not recorded
Tsunami height 10 m or more
Tsunami height 5–9.9 m
Tsunami height 1–4.9 m
Tsunami height under 1 m
Tsunami height not recorded
1700 tsunami record in Japan (pan west of the Aleutians)
Finite-fault rupture model (MODELED)
Slip 6 m or more
Slip 3–5.9 m
Slip 1–2.9 m
Fault: Historic (last ~150 years)
Fault: Latest Quaternary (<15,000 years)
Fault: Late Quaternary (<130,000 years)
Fault: Middle and late Quaternary (<750,000 years)
Fault: Undifferentiated Quaternary (<1.6 million years)
Fault: Class B (Quaternary origin uncertain)
Magnitudes from USGS ComCat. Shaded areas are USGS ShakeMap intensity estimates (MODELED). Pre-1900 values are estimated from historical accounts. Shading (on at load): all 47 quakes with a USGS ShakeMap (36 Atlas), 44 drawn (3 lie inside a bigger one's), latest versions, nearest whole intensity, higher wins; grid above headline for 17. No ShakeMap: 48 (1901 Marysvale, Utah: scenario only, not shown). Times: UTC and local; US local times before 1967 are the standard time of the zone in force on the date (UTC only where that zone is not established). Extra layers, off at load (tick them in the layer control; their legend rows appear when on): fault traces (USGS Qfaults; faults near epicentres from zoom 6); first-week aftershocks for 9 earthquakes (ComCat is sparse before the 1970s); tsunami observations (NCEI) for 1700, 1899, 1938, 1946, 1957, 1964, 1965 and 2021; Did You Feel It? reports for 28 earthquakes (DYFI went online in California in 1997 and nationwide in 2000; reports for older quakes were sent in later); USGS finite-fault models for 13 earthquakes since 2002 (slip from zoom 6); USGS PAGER estimates in popups since 2011; ground-failure models for five quakes. MODELED = USGS model output; OBSERVED = measured or reported.
Ground failure, 1964 Prince William Sound (MODELED)
Liquefaction 1–5% of area
Liquefaction 5–10%
Liquefaction 10–20%
Liquefaction ≥ 20%
Landslides 1–5% of area
Landslides 5–10%
Landslides 10–20%
Landslides ≥ 20%
USGS ground-failure product: share of each cell expected to slide (Nowicki Jessee and others (2017)) or liquefy (Zhu and others (2017)), driven by the event's ShakeMap. A model estimate, not mapped failures; landslides are drawn over liquefaction where both apply.
Ground failure, 1906 San Francisco (MODELED)
Liquefaction 1–5% of area
Liquefaction 5–10%
Liquefaction 10–20%
Liquefaction ≥ 20%
Landslides 1–5% of area
Landslides 5–10%
Landslides 10–20%
Landslides ≥ 20%
USGS ground-failure product: share of each cell expected to slide (Nowicki Jessee and others (2018)) or liquefy (Zhu and others (2017)), driven by the event's ShakeMap. A model estimate, not mapped failures; landslides are drawn over liquefaction where both apply.
Ground failure, 1989 Loma Prieta (MODELED)
Liquefaction 1–5% of area
Liquefaction 5–10%
Liquefaction 10–20%
Liquefaction ≥ 20%
Landslides 1–5% of area
Landslides 5–10%
Landslides 10–20%
Landslides ≥ 20%
USGS ground-failure product: share of each cell expected to slide (Nowicki Jessee and others (2017)) or liquefy (Zhu and others (2017)), driven by the event's ShakeMap. A model estimate, not mapped failures; landslides are drawn over liquefaction where both apply.
Ground failure, 1994 Northridge (MODELED)
Liquefaction 1–5% of area
Liquefaction 5–10%
Liquefaction 10–20%
Liquefaction ≥ 20%
Landslides 1–5% of area
Landslides 5–10%
Landslides 10–20%
Landslides ≥ 20%
USGS ground-failure product: share of each cell expected to slide (Nowicki Jessee and others (2017)) or liquefy (Zhu and others (2017)), driven by the event's ShakeMap. A model estimate, not mapped failures; landslides are drawn over liquefaction where both apply.
Ground failure, 2018 Anchorage (MODELED)
Liquefaction 1–5% of area
Liquefaction 5–10%
Liquefaction 10–20%
Liquefaction ≥ 20%
Landslides 1–5% of area
Landslides 5–10%
Landslides 10–20%
Landslides ≥ 20%
USGS ground-failure product: share of each cell expected to slide (Nowicki Jessee and others (2018)) or liquefy (Zhu and others (2017)), driven by the event's ShakeMap. A model estimate, not mapped failures; landslides are drawn over liquefaction where both apply.
