Records

The biggest earthquakes in U.S. history

The 30 largest earthquakes in the United States and its territories since 1900, from the USGS catalog. Alaska dominates: it sits where the Pacific plate dives under North America, which produces the largest quakes on Earth.

#	Mag	Where	Date
1	9.2	Prince William Sound, Alaska · Alaska	Mar 28, 1964
2	8.6	Unimak Island, Alaska · Alaska	Apr 1, 1946
3	8.6	Atka, Alaska · Alaska	Mar 9, 1957
4	8.2	Semidi Islands, Alaska · Alaska	Nov 10, 1938
5	8.2	Chignik, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 29, 2021
6	8.0	Atka, Alaska · Alaska	May 7, 1986
7	7.9	Kodiak Island region, Alaska · Alaska	Oct 9, 1900
8	7.9	San Francisco, California · California	Apr 18, 1906
9	7.9	77 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · Alaska	Jun 10, 1996
10	7.9	Denali Fault, Alaska · Alaska	Nov 3, 2002
11	7.8	81 km E of Nikolski, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 2, 1965
12	7.8	Perryville, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 22, 2020
13	7.7	45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · Puerto Rico	Jul 29, 1943
14	7.7	17 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii · Hawaii	Nov 29, 1975
15	7.6	5 km WNW of Adak, Alaska · Alaska	Feb 14, 1905
16	7.6	55 km SW of Sitka, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 30, 1972
17	7.6	Sand Point, Alaska · Alaska	Oct 19, 2020
18	7.5	Kern County, California · California	Jul 21, 1952
19	7.5	110 km SW of Edna Bay, Alaska · Alaska	Jan 5, 2013
20	7.4	133 km WNW of Nikolski, Alaska · Alaska	Apr 18, 1916
21	7.4	54 km SE of Sand Point, Alaska · Alaska	May 31, 1917
22	7.4	123 km W of Big Lagoon, California · California	Jan 31, 1922
23	7.3	Central Alaska · Alaska	Aug 27, 1904
24	7.3	88 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 7, 1929
25	7.3	Landers, California · California	Jun 28, 1992
26	7.3	46 km SSW of Adak, Alaska · Alaska	Jun 10, 1996
27	7.3	Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska · Alaska	Jun 24, 2011
28	7.3	Sand Point, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 16, 2025
29	7.2	Mount McKinley (Denali) area, Alaska · Alaska	Jul 7, 1912
30	7.2	31 km SSW of Pelican, Alaska · Alaska	Oct 24, 1927

Biggest outside Alaska

7.9 California: San Francisco, California, 1906
7.7 Hawaii: 17 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii, 1975
7.7 Puerto Rico: 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico, 1943
7.2 Montana: Hebgen Lake, Montana, 1959
7.1 Nevada: Fairview Peak, Nevada, 1954
7.0 Oregon: 136 km WSW of Brookings, Oregon, 1991
6.9 Idaho: Borah Peak, Idaho, 1983
6.8 Washington: Nisqually, Washington, 2001
6.6 Utah: Near Marysvale, Utah, 1901
6.5 Wyoming: 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming, 1959
6.3 Texas: Valentine, Texas, 1931
6.2 Arizona: Near Flagstaff, Arizona, 1906

How big is big?

Each step up the magnitude scale releases about 32 times more energy. The 1964 Alaska earthquake, magnitude 9.2, released more energy than 5,000 of the 1994 Northridge quake in Los Angeles. It shook for about four and a half minutes and set off a tsunami that reached California.

East of the Rockies, big quakes are rare but travel far: the rock is older and colder, so shaking spreads over a much larger area. The 2011 magnitude 5.8 Virginia earthquake was felt from Georgia to Canada. The 1811 and 1812 New Madrid quakes in Missouri, probably around magnitude 7 or larger, came before modern instruments, so they are not in this table.

By state

Data: USGS earthquake catalog, magnitude 3.5 and up since 1900, built 2026-11-07. Quakes just offshore count for the nearest state.

The ten largest U.S. earthquakes since 1900, led by the magnitude 9.2 Alaska earthquake of 1964. — The 10 biggest earthquakes in U.S. history since 1900