History of Earthquake

The earliest earthquake for which we have descriptive information occurred in China in 1177 B.C. The Chinese earthquake catalog describes several dozen large earthquakes in China during the next few thousand years. Earthquakes in Europe are mentioned as early as 580 B.C., but the earliest for which we have some descriptive information occurred in the mid-16th century. The earliest known earthquakes in the Americas were in Mexico in the late 14th century and in Peru in 1471, but descriptions of the effects were not well documented. By the 17th century, descriptions of the effects of earthquakes were being published around the world - although these accounts were often exaggerated or distorted.

Earthquake History In San Francisco

• 1979 M 6.0 Undetermined fault Coyote Lake Earthquake
• 1980 M 6.0 Mt. Diablo-Greenville fault Livermore Earthquake
• 1984 M 6.3 Calaveras fault Morgan Hill Earthquake
• 1989 M 7.1 San Andreas fault Loma Prieta Earthquake
• 2001 M 5.1 West Napa fault Napa Earthquake
• 2007 M 5.6 Calaveras fault