Gulf of Corinth Rift
Greece · continental rift · 1541.1 km of mapped active fault in 25 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 | 0.27 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 100 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 3.33 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 1541.1 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 25 |
| Tectonic setting | continental rift |
| Slip types | Normal, Sinistral-Normal |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 37.82 to 38.59 latitude, 21.24 to 23.95 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 29 significant earthquakes and 14 tsunamis attributed to this system since 551.
The deadliest was the 7 July 551 magnitude 7.1 earthquake (Greece: Schisma, Boetia), which killed 5,000 people.
The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 7.5, on 30 September 1870 (Greece).
The most recent entry is the 19 July 2019 magnitude 5.3 earthquake (Greece: Athens).
Across the entries that record a death toll, 5,798 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 551 | magnitude 7.1 earthquake | Greece: Schisma, Boetia | 5,000 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 20 April 1894 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | Greece: Locride, Malesina-martinon (Lokris) | 255 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 7 September 1999 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Greece: Athens | 143 dead, 53,000 homes destroyed, $4,200 million damage |
| 23 August 1817 | tsunami (waves to 12 m) | Corinthos-patras Gulf | 128 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 23 August 1817 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Greece: Achaia: Aeghion | 128 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 30 September 1870 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Greece | 100 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 1 August 1870 | magnitude 7.0 earthquake | Greece: Itea Delphi (Phokis) | 100 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 15 June 1995 | magnitude 6.5 earthquake | Greece: Aiyion, Eratini | 26 dead, $660 million damage |
| 15 June 1995 | tsunami (waves to 1 m) | Gulf of Corinth: Aiyion | 26 dead, $660 million damage |
| 24 February 1981 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | Greece: Athens-eastern Gulf of Corinth | 22 dead, 8,000 homes destroyed, $812 million damage |
| 24 February 1981 | tsunami (waves to 1 m) | Athens-eastern Gulf of Corinth | 22 dead, 8,000 homes destroyed, $812 million damage |
| 22 April 1928 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Greece: Corinth (Corinthia) | 20 dead, 3,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 22 April 1928 | tsunami (waves to 0.6 m) | Corinthos-patras Gulf | 20 dead, 3,000 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 6 July 1965 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | North Corinth Gulf | 2 dead, 70 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 6 July 1965 | tsunami (waves to 3 m) | North Corinth Gulf | 2 dead, 70 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 4 March 1981 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Greece: Athens-corinth-khalis | 1 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 31 December 1975 | magnitude 5.5 earthquake | Greece: Kato-makrinou | 1 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 26 December 1861 | magnitude 7.3 earthquake | Greece: Achaie, Valymitika, Tripolis | damage $1 to 5 million |
| June 1402 | magnitude 7.0 earthquake | Greece: Corinth (Corinthia) | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 14 May 1748 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Greece: Vostiza (Egio, Aigio, Aeghion) | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 27 July 1714 | magnitude 6.3 earthquake | Greece: Patras | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 20 July 1938 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Greece: Central: Vassilikon | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 4 January 1967 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Greece | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 17 October 1914 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Greece: Thebes | - |
| 18 November 1992 | magnitude 5.9 earthquake | Greece: Galaxidi | damage under $1 million |
These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 43 entries. 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
EPPO, Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.oasp.gr/en (in English)
Other systems in Greece
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.