Historical Great Earthquakes
Every magnitude 8.0 and above earthquake recorded worldwide since 1900, sourced from the USGS catalog. These "great" events are the rarest and most destructive class of seismic activity on Earth.
Event Catalog
- 9.5
1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)
May 22, 1960
- 9.2
The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska Earthquake
Mar 28, 1964
- 9.1
2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, Japan
Mar 11, 2011
- 9.1
2004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands Earthquake
Dec 26, 2004
- 9.0
89 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Nov 4, 1952
- 8.8
2025 Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Earthquake
Jul 29, 2025· Tsunami
- 8.8
2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake
Feb 27, 2010
- 8.8
1906 Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake
Jan 31, 1906
- 8.7
1965 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) Earthquake
Feb 4, 1965
- 8.6
2012 Wharton Basin Earthquake
Apr 11, 2012
- 8.6
78 km WSW of Singkil, Indonesia
Mar 28, 2005
- 8.6
1957 Atka, Alaska Earthquake
Mar 9, 1957
- 8.6
1950 Assam-Tibet Earthquake
Aug 15, 1950
- 8.6
1946 Unimak Island, Alaska Earthquake
Apr 1, 1946
- 8.5
1963 Kuril Islands Earthquake
Oct 13, 1963
- 8.5
1938 Banda Sea Earthquake
Feb 1, 1938
- 8.5
94 km ENE of Vallenar, Chile
Nov 11, 1922
- 8.4
122 km SW of Bengkulu, Indonesia
Sep 12, 2007
- 8.4
6 km SSW of Atico, Peru
Jun 23, 2001
- 8.4
1933 Sanriku (Sanriku-oki) Earthquake, Japan
Mar 2, 1933
- 8.4
1923 Kamchatka, Russia Earthquake
Feb 3, 1923
- 8.3
The 1905 Bulnay (Bolnai), Mongolia Earthquake
Jul 23, 1905
- 8.3
48 km W of Illapel, Chile
Sep 16, 2015· Tsunami
- 8.3
2013 Sea of Okhotsk Earthquake
May 24, 2013· Tsunami
- 8.3
2006 Kuril Islands Earthquake
Nov 15, 2006
- 8.3
48 km E of Shikotan, Russia
Oct 4, 1994
- 8.3
1977 Sumba, Indonesia Earthquake
Aug 19, 1977
- 8.3
1958 Kuril Islands Earthquake
Nov 6, 1958
- 8.3
68 km S of Shing?, Japan
Dec 20, 1946
- 8.3
1918 Mindanao, Philippines Earthquake
Aug 15, 1918
- 8.3
1906 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) Earthquake
Aug 17, 1906
- 8.2
1938 Semidi Islands, Alaska Earthquake
Nov 10, 1938
- 8.2
1920 Hualien, Taiwan Earthquake
Jun 5, 1920
- 8.2
2021 Chignik, Alaska Earthquake
Jul 29, 2021· Tsunami
- 8.2
2018 Fiji Earthquake
Aug 19, 2018· Tsunami
- 8.2
2017 Tehuantepec, Mexico Earthquake
Sep 8, 2017· Tsunami
- 8.2
93 km NW of Iquique, Chile
Apr 1, 2014· Tsunami
- 8.2
2012 Wharton Basin Aftershock
Apr 11, 2012
- 8.2
55 km NNW of Reyes, Bolivia
Jun 9, 1994
- 8.2
1969 Hokkaido Toho-oki Earthquake
Aug 11, 1969
- 8.2
1968 Tokachi-Oki Earthquake
May 16, 1968
- 8.2
1965 Ceram Sea Earthquake
Jan 24, 1965
- 8.2
121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Dec 9, 1950
- 8.2
21 km SE of Huacho, Peru
May 24, 1940
- 8.2
1917 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand Earthquake
May 1, 1917
- 8.2
The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami
Jan 4, 1907
- 8.2
The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile Earthquake
Aug 17, 1906
- 8.2
2003 Tokachi-Oki Earthquake
Sep 25, 2003
- 8.2
1919 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
May 6, 1919
- 8.2
1914 Biak Earthquake
May 26, 1914
- 8.1
1924 Mindanao, Philippines Earthquake
Apr 14, 1924
- 8.1
2021 South Sandwich Islands Earthquake
Aug 12, 2021
- 8.1
2021 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand Earthquake
Mar 4, 2021· Tsunami
- 8.1
2009 Samoa Earthquake
Sep 29, 2009
- 8.1
2007 Solomon Islands Earthquake
Apr 1, 2007
- 8.1
2007 Kuril Islands Earthquake
Jan 13, 2007
- 8.1
2004 Tasman Sea Earthquake
Dec 23, 2004
- 8.1
1998 Balleny Islands Earthquake
Mar 25, 1998
- 8.1
1971 Bougainville Earthquake
Jul 26, 1971
- 8.1
67 km W of Paramonga, Peru
Oct 17, 1966
- 8.1
1963 Banda Sea Earthquake
Nov 4, 1963
- 8.1
4 km ESE of Cañete, Chile
May 21, 1960
- 8.1
1957 Gobi-Altay, Mongolia Earthquake
Dec 4, 1957
- 8.1
1952 Tokachi-Oki Earthquake
Mar 4, 1952
- 8.1
1945 Makran Subduction Zone Earthquake
Nov 27, 1945
- 8.1
1944 Toankai Earthquake
Dec 7, 1944
- 8.1
45 km NNW of Illapel, Chile
Apr 6, 1943
- 8.1
21 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, Peru
Aug 24, 1942
- 8.1
1939 Sulawesi Earthquake
Dec 21, 1939
- 8.1
1932 Jalisco, Mexico Earthquake
Jun 3, 1932
- 8.1
1929 South Sandwich Islands Earthquake
Jun 27, 1929
- 8.1
1919 Tonga Earthquake
Apr 30, 1919
- 8.1
1918 Kuril Islands Earthquake
Sep 7, 1918
- 8.1
1910 Taiwan Earthquake
Apr 12, 1910
- 8.1
1996 Biak, Indonesia Earthquake
Feb 17, 1996
- 8.1
1920 Vanuatu Earthquake
Sep 20, 1920
- 8.0
1989 Macquarie Ridge Earthquake
May 23, 1989
- 8.0
1941 Hyuganada Earthquake
Nov 18, 1941
- 8.0
The 1911 Kemin Earthquake, Kyrgyzstan
Jan 3, 1911
- 8.0
60 km W of Diego de Almagro, Chile
Dec 4, 1918
- 8.0
78 km NE of Navarro, Peru
May 26, 2019· Tsunami
- 8.0
2013 Santa Cruz Islands Earthquake
Feb 6, 2013· Tsunami
- 8.0
41 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, Peru
Aug 15, 2007
- 8.0
2006 Tonga Earthquake
May 3, 2006
- 8.0
2000 New Ireland Earthquake
Nov 16, 2000
- 8.0
1995 Colima-Jalisco, Mexico Earthquake
Oct 9, 1995
- 8.0
36 km NNE of Antofagasta, Chile
Jul 30, 1995
- 8.0
1986 Atka, Alaska Earthquake
May 7, 1986
- 8.0
1985 Michoacan, Mexico Earthquake
Sep 19, 1985
- 8.0
25 km WSW of Valparaíso, Chile
Mar 3, 1985
- 8.0
1976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand Earthquake
Jan 14, 1976
- 8.0
1972 Mindanao, Philippines Earthquake
Dec 2, 1972
- 8.0
1971 New Britain Earthquake
Jul 14, 1971
- 8.0
95 km N of San Antonio del Estrecho, Peru
Jul 31, 1970
- 8.0
1949 Haida Gwaii Earthquake
Aug 22, 1949
- 8.0
1942 Southwest Indian Ridge Earthquake
Nov 10, 1942
- 8.0
1934 Bihar-Nepal Earthquake
Jan 15, 1934
- 8.0
The 1917 Samoa-Tonga Earthquake
Jun 26, 1917
- 8.0
1906 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
Sep 14, 1906
- 8.0
Tonga
Jan 4, 1903
Data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ANSS Comprehensive Catalog. Magnitudes reflect the preferred value in the USGS record.
