Lists of earthquakes

Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle.

They range from weak events detectable only by seismometers, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history.

Below, earthquakes are listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities, and number of scientific studies.

For those which occurred before the development and deployment of seismographs – starting around 1900 – magnitudes are estimated from historical reports of the extent and severity of damage.

The 50 most studied earthquakes according to the International Seismological Centre (ISC), based on a count of scientific papers (mostly in English) that discuss that earthquake.

Earthquakes (6.0+ M w ) between 1900 and 2017
A pie chart comparing the seismic moment release of the three largest earthquakes for the hundred-year period from 1906 to 2005 with that for all earthquakes of magnitudes <6, 6 to 7, 7 to 8, and >8 for the same period. The 2011 Japan quake would be roughly similar to Sumatra.
Earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 and greater from 1900 to 2018. The apparent 3D volumes of the bubbles are linearly proportional to their respective fatalities. [ 32 ] The colour indicates the continent, and the legend counts the number of quakes for each. Notice the absence of Africa.