1. Scientific Catalogue of M 8.5+ Events
Instrumental events (1900-present), historical written records, and paleoseismic events with published magnitude estimates.
| Date | Magnitude | Region / Event | Depth | Tsunami | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-05-22 | 9.5 | Valdivia / Great Chilean, Chile | ~25 km | Yes | Instrumental Largest instrumentally recorded earthquake. Trans-Pacific tsunami. |
| 1964-03-27 | 9.2 | Prince William Sound / Great Alaska, USA | ~25 km | Yes | Instrumental Second-largest recorded. Major Pacific tsunami. |
| 2004-12-26 | 9.1-9.3 | Sumatra-Andaman / Indian Ocean | ~30 km | Yes | Instrumental ~230,000 fatalities from tsunami. |
| 2011-03-11 | 9.0-9.1 | Tōhoku, Japan | ~29 km | Yes | Instrumental Massive tsunami + Fukushima. ~20,000 dead. |
| 1952-11-04 | 9.0 | Kamchatka, Russia | ~22 km | Yes | Instrumental Pacific-wide tsunami. |
| 2010-02-27 | 8.8 | Maule, Chile | ~23 km | Yes | Instrumental Hundreds of fatalities + tsunami. |
| 1906-01-31 | 8.8 | Ecuador-Colombia | ~20 km | Yes | Instrumental Early instrumental great event + tsunami. |
| 2025-07-29 | 8.8 | Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia | ~35 km | Yes | Instrumental Largest since 2011. Regional tsunami. |
| 1965-02-04 | 8.7 | Rat Islands, Alaska | ~30 km | Yes | Instrumental Aleutian megathrust. |
| 1950-08-15 | 8.6-8.7 | Assam-Tibet, India/China | ~15 km | No | Instrumental Largest continental event. Massive landslides. |
| 2012-04-11 | 8.6 | Wharton Basin, Indian Ocean | ~20 km | Minor | Instrumental Great strike-slip event. |
| 2005-03-28 | 8.6 | Nias-Simeulue, Indonesia | ~30 km | Yes | Instrumental Major aftershock of 2004. |
| 1957-03-09 | 8.6 | Andreanof Islands, Alaska | ~25 km | Yes | Instrumental Aleutian megathrust. |
| 1946-04-01 | 8.6 | Unimak Island, Alaska | ~15 km | Yes | Instrumental Destructive tsunami hit Hawaii hard. |
| 1963-10-13 | 8.5 | Kuril Islands, Russia | ~30 km | Yes | Instrumental Kuril trench megathrust. |
| 1938-02-01 | 8.5 | Banda Sea, Indonesia | Intermediate | Yes | Instrumental Large regional tsunami. |
| 1922-11-11 | 8.5 | Vallenar / Atacama, Chile | ~20 km | Yes | Instrumental Chilean megathrust. |
| 1868-08-13 | ~8.5-9.0 est. | Arica, Chile/Peru | - | Yes | Historical Major South American megathrust + large tsunami. |
| 1833-11-25 | ~8.8-9.2 est. | Sumatra, Indonesia | - | Yes | Historical Large Sunda-trench event. |
| 1762-04-02 | ~8.8 est. | Arakan, Bangladesh/Myanmar | - | Yes | Historical Arakan subduction zone. |
| 1755-11-01 | ~8.5-9.0 est. | Lisbon, Portugal | - | Yes | Historical Famous Atlantic event that devastated Lisbon. |
| 1737-10 | ~9.0-9.3 est. | Kamchatka, Russia | - | Yes | Historical One of the largest historical Kamchatka events. |
| 1730-07-08 | ~9.1-9.3 est. | Valparaíso, Chile | - | Yes | Historical Major Chilean megathrust. |
| 1707-10-28 | ~8.7-9.3 est. | Hōei / Nankai Trough, Japan | - | Yes | Historical Largest historical Japanese multi-segment rupture. |
| 1700-01-26 | ~8.7-9.2 est. | Cascadia, Pacific Northwest (USA/Canada) | Shallow | Yes | Paleoseismic + Indigenous Native oral histories + Japanese orphan tsunami + geology. Full-margin rupture. |
| 1585-06 | ~9.0-9.25 est. | Aleutian Islands | - | Yes | Historical / paleotsunami Large estimated Aleutian event with tsunami evidence in Japan and Hawaiian oral traditions. |
| 1575-12-16 | ~8.5-9.0 est. | Valdivia, Chile | - | Yes | Historical Early Spanish-colonial Chilean megathrust. |
| ~AD 869 | ~8.6-9.0 est. | Jōgan / Sanriku, Japan | - | Yes | Historical + paleoseismic Important analogue for the 2011 Tōhoku event. |
| ~AD 365 | ~8.5 est. | Crete, Greece | - | Yes | Historical + geological Major Mediterranean event; large uplift on Crete + destructive tsunami. |
| ~3800 yr BP | ~9.0-9.5 est. | Northern Chile super-segment | - | Yes | Paleoseismic Proposed giant multi-segment rupture based on tsunami deposits and archaeological evidence. |
2. Indigenous / Native Oral Accounts of Great Earthquakes & Tsunamis
Traditional stories from Indigenous peoples describing very large earthquakes and/or tsunamis.
Exact dates and magnitudes are usually unknown. Included because they represent cultural memory of major seismic events.
| People / Culture | Region | Description of the Event (Oral Account) | Notes / Scientific Link (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Various First Nations (Coast Salish, Makah, Quileute, etc.) | Cascadia / Pacific Northwest (USA & Canada) | Stories of a massive earthquake at night in winter, the ground shaking violently, the ocean rising and flooding far inland, villages destroyed, people fleeing to high ground. Some accounts describe the land sinking or the sea staying high for a long time. | Strongly linked to the 1700 Cascadia megathrust (M ~9). One of the best examples of Indigenous knowledge confirmed by modern science. |
| Hawaiian oral traditions | Hawaiian Islands | Accounts of great waves that came without warning from the ocean, destroying coastal settlements, and stories of the sea rising after distant shaking felt or heard from the north. | Some linked to distant Aleutian or Cascadia tsunamis (including possible 1585 Aleutian event). |
| Mapuche (and other Andean Indigenous groups) | Southern & Central Chile | Traditional stories of the earth trembling violently, mountains moving, the sea invading the land, and great floods that reshaped the coast. Some accounts speak of the land rising or sinking. | Multiple great Chilean megathrusts (including 1575, 1730, 1837, 1960) are reflected in Mapuche historical memory. |
| Māori | New Zealand (especially North Island and coastal areas) | Stories of Rūaumoko (god of earthquakes and volcanoes) causing the land to shake and the sea to rise. Oral histories of sudden coastal flooding and land level changes. | Linked to large Hikurangi margin and Alpine Fault events. Exact magnitudes of prehistoric events still under study. |
| Indigenous peoples of Kamchatka & Kuril Islands (Itelmen, Ainu-related groups, etc.) | Kamchatka / Kuril region, Russia | Traditional accounts of sudden great shaking, the sea withdrawing and then returning as huge waves, villages destroyed, and people taking refuge on high ground or inland. | Consistent with the long history of great Kamchatka megathrust earthquakes (including 1737, 1952, 2025). |
| Indigenous groups of the Pacific Northwest & British Columbia | British Columbia & northern Cascadia | Stories of the earth shaking so hard that people could not stand, the ocean coming inland as a wall of water, and entire villages being swept away. Some accounts mention the event happening at night in winter. | Part of the same Cascadia oral tradition complex as the 1700 event. |
| Native Alaskan groups (Aleut / Unangan, Alutiiq, etc.) | Aleutian Islands & southern Alaska | Oral histories of violent shaking, sudden sea level changes, and destructive waves that came after the ground stopped moving. Stories of people being warned by animals or signs before the sea rose. | Consistent with the long series of great Aleutian megathrust earthquakes (1946, 1957, 1965, and earlier events). |
| Indigenous peoples of Japan (Ainu and earlier coastal cultures) | Northern Japan / Hokkaido & Sanriku coast | Traditional stories of the sea suddenly rising after strong shaking, villages destroyed by waves, and people remembering past great floods from the ocean. | Overlaps with historical Japanese records of great Sanriku and Nankai events (including 869 Jōgan). |
| Various Pacific Island oral traditions | Multiple Pacific Islands | Stories of the ocean rising without local shaking (teletsunamis), or of the ground shaking and the sea following. Some describe the disappearance of coastal land or islands. | Many are linked to distant great earthquakes (Cascadia, Aleutians, Chile, Japan, Kamchatka). |