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Damage from the earthquakes on July 8 was minor and included a rockslide in Coleville and items falling from shelves in nearby stores.Įven quakes that don’t cause major damage are a reminder that California is earthquake county, and it’s important to be prepared. Aftershocks continued to be felt into the night, with a magnitude 4.5 aftershock reported around 10:30 p.m. The magnitude 6.0 earthquake was widely felt, with reports as far away as the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento in California, and Carson City in Nevada. The largest, a 6.0 magnitude, occurred along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada, a major physiographic boundary along the California-Nevada border. The quakes were a result of normal faulting and strike slip faults near the Antelope Valley fault, which runs north-south along the Sierra Nevada range front. On the afternoon of July 8, 2021, at least several dozen earthquakes struck Little Antelope Valley, which is in Inyo National Forest, approximately 20 miles southwest of Smith Valley, Nevada. And if you own your home, one of the best things to do before the next big earthquake strikes is to strengthen it with a seismic retrofit. Major quakes like this are a reminder that California is earthquake county, and it's important to be prepared. 'This area is the most seismically active part of California,' said Keith Knudsen, Deputy Director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center. There have been over 40 earthquakes at or above magnitude 6.0 in the last hundred years within the region of this quake. This area, known as the Mendocino Triple Junction, has a long history of earthquakes. The quake was widely felt, with reports of weak shaking being felt hundreds of miles away.

The strong shaking damaged roads, homes, and utilities, according to the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services. Two people were killed and seventeen injured. The quake was about 10 miles southwest of Ferndale, California, in Humboldt County. In the early morning of December 20 th, 2022, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck a few miles off the coast of Northern California, followed by at least a dozen smaller aftershocks. Take a look at noteworthy temblors in our state’s recorded history by viewing this California earthquake history timeline. Many notable shakers-moderate or major earthquakes in California-have made history and are still remembered and talked about today. Jump to the most Recent Earthquakes in California Timeline of historical Earthquakes in CaliforniaĪlthough most of California's quakes are small in magnitude and cause little or no damage, California experiences more than 100 per day! Although the magnitude and epicenter are unclear, by comparing the descriptions with more recent events, the quake may have been similar in strength to the 1933 Long Beach or 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. Some described the shaking in expedition diaries as violent, occurring over the next several days, suggesting aftershocks. Members of the expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá were camped along the Santa Ana River when they felt a strong earthquake.īased on descriptions of the quake, it was likely a moderate or strong earthquake. Home > Earthquake Risk > List of Notable and Major California Earthquakes List of Notable and Major California Earthquakes California's Earthquake HistoryĪlthough earlier earthquakes have been documented-such as significant movement on the southern San Andreas fault all the way back to the 1600s-the earliest reported earthquake in California was on July 28, 1769, noted by members of a Spanish expedition to chart a land route from San Diego to Monterey.

Recent earthquakes in california