Reviewed by USGSCalifornia101y ago
M6.2 earthquake 183 km WNW of Indianola, California
Friday, December 10, 1926, 08:38:57 UTC · 41.141°N, 126.333°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 183 km WNW of Indianola, California on Friday, December 10, 1926, 08:38:57 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on January 22, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
35 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 72 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
82 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 19 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4123 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJanuary 31, 1922 · 61 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923 · 132 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.552 km WNW of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJuly 15, 1918 · 136 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5235 km W of Port Orford, OregonAugust 5, 1910 · 200 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4187 km W of Trinidad, CaliforniaDecember 31, 1915 · 6 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4off the coast of Northern CaliforniaJune 10, 1917 · 170 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1865
Fort Humboldt, Eureka
1 Oct 1865 · 154 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1922M7.6
Northern
31 Jan 1922 · 72 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1923M7.1
Northern
22 Jan 1923 · 132 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1873M6.7
Northern
23 Nov 1873 · 216 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1871M5.9
Humboldt County
2 Mar 1871 · 198 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1855
Northern
20 Mar 1855 · 184 km away · intensity V
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.