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List of earthquakes

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Historical earthquakes
Historical earthquakes
Historical earthquakes is a list of significant earthquakes from before the 20th century. As the events listed here occurred before routine instrumental recordings, they rely mainly on the analysis of written sources. There is often significant uncertainty in location and magnitude and sometimes...

(before 1900)
List of 20th century earthquakes (1901-2000)
List of recent earthquakes (2001 to the present)

Lists of earthquakes by country

List of earthquakes in Algeria
List of earthquakes in Argentina
List of Earthquakes in Australia
List of earthquakes in Canada
List of earthquakes in Chile
List of earthquakes in China
List of earthquakes in Eritrea
Earthquakes in Guatemala
Earthquakes in Guatemala
Earthquakes are relatively frequent occurrences in Guatemala. The country lies in a major fault zone, known as the Motagua and Chixoy-Polochic fault complex, which cuts across Guatemala and forms the tectonic boundary between the Caribbean plate and the North American plate...
List of earthquakes in Iceland
List of earthquakes in Indonesia
List of earthquakes in Iran
List of earthquakes in Italy
List of earthquakes in Japan
Earthquakes in New Zealand
Earthquakes in New Zealand
Earthquakes occur regularly in New Zealand as the country forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is geologically active. About 14,000 earthquakes, most of them minor, are recorded each year. About 200 of these are strong enough to be felt...
List of earthquakes in Pakistan
Earthquakes in Peru
Earthquakes in Peru
Earthquakes in Peru are common occurrences as the country is located in a seismic zone. The interface between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates is located near the Peruvian coast. These plates are converging at a rate of per year...
South Asia earthquakes list
South Asia earthquakes list
The following is the South Asia earthquake list....
List of earthquakes in Turkey
List of earthquakes in the United Kingdom
List of earthquakes in the United States
Earthquakes in California
Earthquakes in California
Earthquakes in California are common occurrences as the state is located on the San Andreas Fault, which cuts across California and forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific and the North American Plate. There are many thousands of small earthquakes per year, most of them are so small that...

Other lists

List of earthquakes by death toll
List of all known deadly earthquakes since 1900
Historic tsunamis
Historic tsunamis
This article lists notable historic tsunamis by date and place of the tsunami and/or earthquake.- Locations :Due to seismic and volcanic activity at tectonic plate boundaries along the Pacific Ring of Fire, tsunamis occur most frequently in the Pacific Ocean, but are a worldwide phenomenon...

Largest earthquakes by magnitude

Pos.	Date	Location	Magnitude
1	May 22, 1960	Valdivia Valdivia, Chile Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately 15 km east of the coastal towns of Corral and... , Chile Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... (see: 1960 Valdivia earthquake)	9.5
2	December 26, 2004	Off west coast of northern Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit... , Indonesia Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an... (see: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake... )	9.3
4	March 27, 1964	Prince William Sound Prince William Sound Prince William Sound is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System... , Alaska Alaska Alaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait... , USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... (see: 1964 Alaska earthquake)	9.2
5	November 4, 1952	Kamchatka Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west... , USSR Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz... (see: Kamchatka earthquakes Kamchatka earthquakes Two Kamchatka earthquakes, which occurred at approximately the same location off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia on October 16, 1737 and November 4, 1952, were megathrust earthquakes and caused tsunamis. They occurred where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Okhotsk Plate... )	9.0
6	January 26, 1700	Cascadia subduction zone Cascadia subduction zone The Cascadia subduction zone is a subduction zone, a type of convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island to northern California... (see: 1700 Cascadia earthquake)	~9
7	January 31, 1906	Colombia Colombia Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean... -Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...	8.8
8	February 4, 1965	Rat Islands Rat Islands The Rat Islands are a volcanic group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska, between Buldir Island and the Near Islands group to its west, and Amchitka Pass and the Andreanof Islands group to its east, at about .... , Alaska Alaska Alaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait... , USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	8.7
9	November 25, 1833	Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit... , Indonesia Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...	8.7
10	November 1, 1755	Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region... , Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910... (see: 1755 Lisbon earthquake 1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and fires, which caused near-total destruction of Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and adjoining areas... )	~8.7
11	March 28, 2005	Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit... , Indonesia Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...	8.6-8.7*
12	March 9, 1957	Andreanof Islands Andreanof Islands The Andreanof Islands are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. They are located between Amchitka Pass and the Rat Islands group to the west, and Amukta Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group to the east, at about 52° North and 172°57' to 179°09' West. The islands... , Alaska Alaska Alaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait... , USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... (see: 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake The 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake was a magnitude 8.6 M_W megathrust earthquake that took place on March 9, 1957. It was centered at , south of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S... )	8.6
13	December 16, 1920	Ningxia Ningxia Ningxia , full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region , is a Hui autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary... -Gansu Gansu ' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It lies between Quinghai, Inner Mongolia, and the Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes the southern part of the province. It has a population of nearly 31... , China China China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....	8.6
14	August 15, 1950	Assam Assam Assam ) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur located in the Guwahati city. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys and the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles... -Tibet Tibet Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average... , China China China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....	8.6
15	December 16, 1575	Valdivia Valdivia, Chile Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately 15 km east of the coastal towns of Corral and... , Kingdom of Chile	8.5
16	September 12, 2007	Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit... , Indonesia Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...	8.5
3	October 16, 1737	Kamchatka Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west... , Russian Empire Russian Empire The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union... (see: Kamchatka earthquakes Kamchatka earthquakes Two Kamchatka earthquakes, which occurred at approximately the same location off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia on October 16, 1737 and November 4, 1952, were megathrust earthquakes and caused tsunamis. They occurred where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Okhotsk Plate... )	~8.3

* Scientists have not yet agreed on an official magnitude.

Deadliest earthquakes on record

Source: USGS http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/most_destructive.php
Rank	Name	Date	Location	Fatalities	Magnitude	Comments
1	"Shaanxi"	January 23, 1556	Shaanxi Shaanxi ' is a province in the Northwest China region of the People's Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of the province.-Romanization and Name:By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if... , China China China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....	830,000	8.0	Death toll skyrocketed in China
2	"Tangshan"	July 28, 1976	Tangshan Tangshan Tangshan is a mainly industrial prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It became known after the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, 7.5 on the Richter scale which flattened the city... , China China China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....	255,000 (official)	7.5	Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.
3	"Indian Ocean" 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...	December 26, 2004	Off West coast of Northern Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit... , Indonesia Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...	~230,210 dead and missing	9.0	Deaths from earthquake and tsunami.
4	"Aleppo" 1138 Aleppo earthquake The 1138 Aleppo earthquake was an earthquake that was located near the town of Aleppo in northern Syria on 11 October 1138. The United States Geological Survey lists it as the fourth deadliest earthquake in history...	October 11, 1138	Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population... , Syria Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....	230,000	8.5	Death toll disputed as first mention of 230,000 dead was in the 15th century.
5	"Damghan"	December 22, 856	Damghan Damghan Dāmghān is a city in Semnan Province, Iran, from Tehran on the high-road to Meshed, at an elevation of . It has grown from a population of 34,057 to an estimated 72,098 .... , Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...	200,000
5	"Gansu 1920 Haiyuan earthquake 1920 Haiyuan earthquake , was an earthquake that occurred on December 16, 1920. The epicenter was , in Haiyuan County, Ningxia Province, China... "	December 16, 1920	Ningxia Ningxia Ningxia , full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region , is a Hui autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary... -Gansu Gansu ' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It lies between Quinghai, Inner Mongolia, and the Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes the southern part of the province. It has a population of nearly 31... , China China China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....	200,000 - 240,000	7.8 or 8.5	Major fractures, landslides.
7	"Ardabil"	March 23, 893+	Ardabil Ardabil Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil province. Its population is estimated to be around 340,386, the dominant majority of whom are ethnic Azerbaijanis... , Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...	150,000
8	"Great Kantō 1923 Great Kanto earthquake The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes.... "	September 1, 1923	Kantō region Kanto region The is a geographical area of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. The region encompasses seven prefectures which overlaps the Greater Tokyo Area: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain... , Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	143,000	7.9	Great Tokyo fire.
9	"Ashgabat 1948 Ashgabat earthquake The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, at a magnitude 7.3 M_w, occurred at on 5 October 1948 near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan .- Details :... "	October 6, 1948	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Republic of Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic...	110,000	7.3
10	"Kashmir" 2005 Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in North West Frontier Province near the city of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October, 2005...	October 8, 2005	India India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal... N.W.F.P North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province is the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan... and Kashmir	100,000 (estimated), 80,000 (official)	7.6 or 7.8	3.5 million people homeless, 100,000 feared dead

External links

Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC)
Earthquakes Canada
Earthquakes in India
IRIS Seismic Monitor, Recent earthquakes around the world
Recent New Zealand earthquakes
SeismoArchives, Seismogram Archives of Significant Earthquakes of the World
USGS list of current earthquakes
USGS list of current earthquakes above M5.0
USGS list of earthquakes magnitude 6.0 and greater sorted by magnitude
Earthquake Panic Grips Kenya and Tanzania
NOAA Significant Earthquakes Global Database, over 6500 events
Santiago de Cuba earthquake of 11 June 1766
Database for the damage of world earthquake, ancient period (3000 BC) to year of 2006- Building Research Institute (Japan) (建築研究所) in Japanese