California Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record
California averages 1,269 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year (2016 to 2025), and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M7.9 of April 18, 1906, the San Francisco, California Earthquake.
Earthquakes near Los Angeles in the last 30 days
Every quake within 155 miles of Los Angeles, California’s largest city, newest first. For your own address, enter a ZIP code.
Live from the USGS earthquake catalog. Times are Pacific time; felt reports and the shaking level come from Did You Feel It? A new quake can take a few minutes to appear and its magnitude can be revised.
California by the numbers
USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026California averages 1,269 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year, counting 12,693 from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 3rd of the fifty states.
California earthquakes by year
The USGS catalog lists 15,559 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in California from 1990 to 2025, the most in 1992 (2,047). 2016 to 2025: 3,882; 2006 to 2015: 2,643.
The 10 largest earthquakes in California
The largest earthquake in California in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M7.9 of April 18, 1906, the San Francisco, California Earthquake. The most recent of magnitude 4 or more was the M4.8 of September 29, 2026, 97 km W of Petrolia, CA (offshore).
- 1M7.9
- 2M7.5
- 3M7.4
- 4M7.3
- 5M7.2
- 6M7.2
- 7M7.1
- 8M7.1
- 9M7.1
- 10M6.9
From the USGS ComCat catalog, every magnitude since 1900, read October 10, 2026. Offshore quakes count when USGS names California in the place and the quake is within 150 km of its coast. Each place links to the quake’s USGS page.
Fault zones in California
- Hayward Fault
- San Andreas Fault
- Calaveras Fault
- Rodgers Creek Fault
- Maacama Fault
“However, many scientists believe that the Hayward Fault is connected to the Calaveras Fault to the south, the Rodgers Creek Fault to the north and to the Maacama Fault still farther north.”
Named by the California Department of Conservation (California Geological Survey), read October 9, 2026.
What to do in an earthquake
- 1
Drop
Drop where you are onto hands and knees.
- 2
Cover
Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows). Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.
- 3
Hold On
Hold until the shaking stops. If under shelter, hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it when the shelter moves. If not under shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.
Ready.gov’s words, from Ready.gov: Earthquakes (updated Sep 9, 2026, read October 9, 2026). Practice it with The Great ShakeOut: Earthquake Drills.
California earthquake questions
More from MyWild
Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. California’s counts and largest quakes: the USGS ComCat catalog, read October 10, 2026, counted inside the state’s Census boundary and within 150 km of its coast where USGS names the state. Los Angeles: the state’s most populous city in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Older years hold fewer small quakes because fewer instruments were listening.
Hero photograph: the San Andreas Fault across the Carrizo Plain. “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” by Ikluft, CC BY-SA 4.0