Betic-Alboran System
Spain / Morocco · convergent margin · 5119.8 km of mapped active fault in 88 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 0 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.23 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 83 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 2.77 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 5119.8 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 88 |
| Tectonic setting | convergent margin |
| Slip types | Normal, Reverse, Dextral-Normal |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 34.44 to 38.69 latitude, -8.17 to 0.43 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 17 significant earthquakes and 4 tsunamis attributed to this system since 1680.
The deadliest was the 1 November 1755 magnitude 8.5 earthquake (Portugal: Lisbon), which killed 50,000 people.
The most recent entry is the 25 January 2016 magnitude 6.3 earthquake (Morocco: Melilla), which killed one person.
Across the entries that record a death toll, 51,860 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 November 1755 | tsunami (waves to 18.3 m) | Lisbon | 50,000 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 1 November 1755 | magnitude 8.5 earthquake | Portugal: Lisbon | 50,000 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 25 December 1884 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | Spain: Arenas del Rey, Vega, Alhama, Malaga | 745 dead, 4,399 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 24 February 2004 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Morocco: Al Hoceima, Imzourene, Beni Abdallah | 628 dead, 2,539 homes destroyed, $400 million damage |
| 25 August 1804 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Spain: Almeria, Dalias, Roquetas | 173 dead, 2,500 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 18 August 1994 | magnitude 5.9 earthquake | Algeria: Mascara | 171 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 9 October 1680 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Spain: Malaga | 70 dead, 2,111 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 9 October 1680 | tsunami (waves to 5 m) | Alboran Sea | 70 dead, 2,111 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 22 December 1999 | magnitude 5.6 earthquake | Algeria: Northern: Ain Temouchent | 24 dead, 3,000 homes destroyed, $61 million damage |
| 27 October 1806 | magnitude 5.3 earthquake | Spain: Granada | 13 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 19 April 1956 | magnitude 5.0 earthquake | Spain | 11 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 11 May 2011 | magnitude 5.1 earthquake | Spain: Lorca | 10 dead, $260 million damage |
| 13 July 1967 | magnitude 5.0 earthquake | Algeria: near Sig | 10 dead, 40 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million |
| 13 January 1804 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | Spain: Almeria: Dalias | 2 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 13 January 1804 | tsunami | Alboran Sea | 2 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 25 January 2016 | magnitude 6.3 earthquake | Morocco: Melilla | 1 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 6 June 2008 | magnitude 5.5 earthquake | Algeria: Oran | 1 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 25 January 2016 | tsunami (waves to 0 m) | Morocco | 1 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 9 January 2008 | magnitude 4.6 earthquake | Algeria: Oran | 1 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 2 February 1999 | magnitude 4.8 earthquake | Spain: Mula, Puebla de Mula | $44 million damage |
| 29 January 2005 | magnitude 4.4 earthquake | Spain: la Paca, Zarcilla de Ramos | damage $1 to 5 million |
A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Who to listen to if you live here
Proteccion Civil is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.proteccioncivil.es/ (in Spanish)
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.