These are the biggest California earthquakes recorded in history

A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Northern California Thursday morning is one of the largest the state has seen — measuring as high as some of the top 10 biggest California quakes since the earliest recorded temblor in 1769.

In the more than 250 years since then, just 15 other earthquakes recorded in California have had a magnitude of 7.0 or above, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The largest two quakes ever recorded in the state both have a magnitude of 7.9: the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, which struck Kern County in the Central Valley and was felt as far as 300 miles away and the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which killed more than 3,000 people and led to fires and widespread destruction.

More recently, some of the most deadly and destructive California quakes have measured a lower magnitude than the one that struck Thursday, which led to evacuations and a tsunami warning which was later canceled. 

The disastrous 1994 Northridge earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.7, left 60 people dead and injured more than 7,000 other people, leaving 20,000 people homeless and damaging more than 40,000 buildings, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Just five years earlier, the 6.9-magnitude 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake killed 63 people and caused about $6 billion in property damage in Northern California. Years earlier, the 1971 San Fernando earthquake — which had an even lower magnitude of 6.6 — killed 65 people and injured more than 2,000, with an epicenter in a sparsely populated area of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Here are the largest earthquakes in California history — with the top 10 highest magnitudes ever recorded

10. Magnitude 6.6

• San Fernando, Calif.: With shaking that lasted about 60 seconds, the 1971 San Fernando earthquake left a trail of widespread destruction as it took 65 lives, collapsed freeway overpasses and destroyed buildings constructed to be quake-resistant. It was followed by aftershocks lasting months.
• Borrego Mountain, Calif.: Rockslides, cracks in the roadway of Highway 78, and boulders blocking a highway all resulted from this 1968 earthquake in San Diego County.
• Fish Creek Mountains, Calif.: This 1942 temblor led to landslides and several aftershocks, with shaking felt across Southern California in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties.
• Vacaville, Calif.: At least one person was killed and several buildings were destroyed, collapsed or shifted off their foundations by this 1892 earthquake.
• Superstition Hills, Calif.: The 1987 Imperial Valley quake injured at least 94 people and left behind about $4 million in damage and destruction. 

9. Magnitude 6.7

• Northridge, Calif.: The Jan. 17, 1994 earthquake, one of the most destructive and deadly in California history, killed 60 people and brought down buildings across Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties. Thousands of people were left homeless and more than 7,000 people injured, with an estimated $13 to $20 billion in damage left in the aftermath. 
• San Jacinto, Calif. — 1918: This quake killed one person and injured several people while destroying several buildings across the small town of San Jacinto, just west of Palm Springs.
• San Jacinto, Calif. — 1899: Leaving behind a trail of destruction in Hemet and San Jacinto, the earlier San Jacinto quake killed six people and led to estimated property losses of about $1.65 million.
• South of Mendocino, Calif.: Landslides were triggered by this earthquake in 1898, which wrecked some homes and took down trees and left them blocking roadways. 
• Coalinga, Calif.: This 1983 earthquake injured 94 people and left about $10 million in damage, according to American Red Cross estimates, nearly completely destroying an 8-block downtown commercial district in the Fresno County city of Coalinga.

8. Magnitude 6.8 

• Santa Barbara, Calif.: Thirteen people were killed and some buildings in the downtown area of Santa Barbara were destroyed by this quake in 1925. Leaving behind heavy damage and destruction to nearby towns along the coastline, the costs of property damage was estimated to be around $139 million.
• Hayward Fault: The 1868 Hayward Fault earthquake hit the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is known to be one of the most devastating earthquakes in California history. It killed 30 people and was the most destructive to hit the area up until the disastrous San Francisco earthquake of 1906, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Round Valley, Calif.: The 1872 Inyo County quake was felt as far as Los Angeles and San Francisco and knocked several stone buildings to the ground.
• Owens Valley, Calif.: Also in 1872, this strong aftershock followed the 7.4-magnitude Owens Valley Earthquake which struck just three hours and 36 minutes before. 
• Northeastern San Diego County, Calif.: This 1890 earthquake likely had few reports of damage because it struck a sparsely population region between Los Angeles and Yuma, Arizona, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A few broken windows and residents awaken by the shaken were among the few impacts recorded.

7. Magnitude 6.9

• Imperial Valley, Calif.: Nine people were killed and about $6 million in damage caused by this 1940 earthquake, which damaged about 80 percent of buildings in the city of Imperial, which is just 13 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Loma Prieta, Calif.: The 1989 Northern California earthquake was the largest earthquake to occur along the San Andreas Fault since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It killed 63 people, injured more than 3,700 and caused widespread destruction, collapsing homes and damaging dozens of bridges including the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. Total damage estimates stand at about $6 billion, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Lompoc, Calif.: This Santa Barbara County quake in 1927 damaged a number of buildings and led to some rockslides and landslides in the area.
• North of Crescent City, Calif.: Chimneys were knocked to the ground and cracks in the ground were seen after this earthquake in 1873, which was felt as far south as 500 miles away in San Francisco and as far north as 340 miles away in Portland, Oregon.

6. Magnitude 7.1 

• Ridgecrest, Calif.: In 2019, the Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence in eastern California followed nearly two days after a 6.4-magnitude quake in the same region. The U.S. Geological Survey reports this area of California has been the site of a number of moderately sized quakes.
• Hector Mine, Calif.: This 1999 earthquake in San Bernardino County left four people injured when an Amtrak train derailed, leaving behind less damage than other comparatively sized quakes. It was felt in other parts of Southern California as well as areas of southern Nevada and western Arizona.   
• Santa Barbara Channel, Calif.: In 1812, this major earthquake shook an area spanning what is now the counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, killing at least one person and destroying some buildings in the Santa Barbara area. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, many lives were likely saved by a strong foreshock that sent people fleeing about 15 minutes earlier.

5. Magnitude 7.2

Eureka, Calif: The 1980 earthquake injured six people and caused roughly $2 million in property damage. At the time it was the largest earthquake the area experienced since 1956. The tremors were felt in Oregon and Nevada.

Petrolia, Calif: This 1992 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks injured 95 people and caused roughly $66 million in property damage. It also caused landslides and rockfalls in the Honeydew-Petrolia area. Similar to the recent 2024 incident off the coast of California, the Petrolia earthquake created a small tsunami.  

4. Magnitude 7.3

• Landers, Calif.: At least one person was killed in Yucca Valley, more than 400 people were injured and another two people died of heart attacks in this 1992 earthquake which was felt throughout Southern California as well as parts of western Arizona, southern Nevada and southern Utah. 

3. Magnitude 7.4

• Owens Valley, Calif.: Just east of the Sierra Nevada, this devastating earthquake in 1872 in Inyo County took the lives of 27 people in the community of Lone Pine, with deaths also reported in other areas of the Owens Valley. Several homes and buildings were completely destroyed by the shaking, leaving behind about $5.26 million in property losses.
• San Andreas Fault: In 1838, this earthquake along the infamous San Andreas Fault in Santa Clara County heavily damaged and destroyed some buildings, and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, was likely caused by a rupture along the fault. 

2. Magnitude 7.5

San Bernardino, Calif: The massive 1812 earthquake caused devastating damage to the Missions in Southern California, destroying the masonry church at Mission San Juan Capistrano and killing 40 people attending services at the time. Seismologists from the USGS believe the earthquake may have ruptured the San Andreas fault in Wrightwood.

Kern County, Calif: The 1952 earthquake, which killed 12 people, was the largest in the conterminous United States since the catastrophic 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, according to the USGS. Adjusted for inflation, it caused about $690 million in property damage. The California Institute of Technology recorded 188 aftershocks above a magnitude of 4.0.  

1. Magnitude 7.9

• Fort Tejon, Calif.: The massive 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake in Kern County has been described by the U.S. Geological Survey as "The Last 'Big One' in Southern California." It led to the death of at least one person, who was killed in the collapse of an adobe house in Gorman and the strong shaking was felt for about one to three minutes, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. Several aftershocks were felt across the broader Southern California region and beyond.
• San Francisco: Widely known as one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes in California history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake killed about 3,000 people and led to fires that raged throughout the city. The shaking, which destroyed buildings and left behind an estimated $20 million in damage, went on for about a minute and was felt as far east as western Nevada and as far north as parts of northern Oregon.