San Andreas Fault
California, USA · continental transform · 1682.2 km of mapped active fault in 14 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 | 0.07 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 27 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 0.90 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 1682.2 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 14 |
| Tectonic setting | continental transform |
| Slip types | Dextral, Dextral-Reverse |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 33.35 to 37.90 latitude, -122.67 to -115.71 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 15 significant earthquakes and 5 tsunamis attributed to this system since 1812.
The deadliest was the 18 April 1906 magnitude 7.9 earthquake (California: San Francisco), which killed 700 people.
The most recent entry is the 28 September 2004 magnitude 6.0 earthquake (California: Central: Parkfield, San Miguel).
Across the entries that record a death toll, 807 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April 1906 | magnitude 7.9 earthquake | California: San Francisco | 700 dead, 28,188 homes destroyed, $400 million damage |
| 18 October 1989 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | California: Loma Prieta | 62 dead, $5,600 million damage |
| 18 October 1989 | tsunami (waves to 1 m) | N. California | 62 dead, $5,600 million damage |
| 8 December 1812 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | California: San Juan Capistrano | 40 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 28 June 1992 | magnitude 7.6 earthquake | California: Landers, Yucca Valley | 3 dead, $92 million damage |
| 24 November 1987 | magnitude 6.2 earthquake | California: Superstition Hills | 2 dead, $3 million damage |
| June 1838 | magnitude 7.0 earthquake | California: San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara | damage under $1 million |
| 28 June 1992 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | California: Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 3 March 1901 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | California: San Diego | damage under $1 million |
| 23 April 1992 | magnitude 6.3 earthquake | California: Joshua Tree, Angelus Oaks | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 8 October 1865 | magnitude 6.3 earthquake | California: Santa Cruz | $1 million damage |
| 28 September 2004 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | California: Central: Parkfield, San Miguel | damage under $1 million |
| 8 July 1986 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | California: Palm Springs | $5 million damage |
| 26 April 1981 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | California: Westmorland, Calipatria | $2 million damage |
| 22 March 1957 | magnitude 5.7 earthquake | California: San Mateo County | $1 million damage |
| 15 February 1856 | magnitude 5.5 earthquake | California: Northern | damage under $1 million |
| 15 February 1856 | tsunami (waves to 0.6 m) | N. California | damage under $1 million |
| 18 April 1906 | tsunami (waves to 0.1 m) | N. California | - |
| 3 March 1901 | tsunami | Monterey Bay, N. California | - |
| 8 October 1865 | tsunami | N. California | $1 million damage |
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.
Published rupture probability
USGS, UCERF3 (Fact Sheet 2015-3009) publishes a probability for this system. It is their figure, not ours:
| Probability | 19% |
|---|---|
| For an earthquake of | M6.7 or larger |
| Within | 30 years |
| As of | 2015 |
This is the figure for the southern San Andreas near Mojave. The same model gives the northern section near San Francisco 6.4 percent.
Read the issuer's own publication
Who to listen to if you live here
California Geological Survey is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/earthquakes (in English)
Other systems in California, USA
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.