2002 continued the relative seismic quiet on the North Coast since the middle 1990’s. Only ten earthquakes of magnitude 4 or larger were recorded, compared to 20 last year, the fourth lowest total since 1974. Two earthquakes were in the magnitude 5 range. The largest earthquake of the year, a magnitude 5.3 on the morning of June 17, located 23 miles offshore of Eureka. The earthquake was felt by many in Humboldt County and by some as far north as Grants Pass, Oregon and east to Redding. Fortunately, the earthquake was just far enough offshore to only cause a few items to fall off shelves and no significant damage. North coast residents were lucky - on December 26, 1994, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake located in the same area but only 11 miles offshore of Eureka caused over $1 million in damages! The second largest earthquake of the year was part of a vigorous sequence of earthquakes May 4- 6 on the Mendocino fault just offshore of Cape Mendocino area. 22 earthquakes of magnitude 2 and larger were recorded over a 50 hour period with 15 events in the magnitude 3 to 4 range. The larger events were felt by many in the Cape Mendocino area but did no damage. Such sequences are not unusual on the Mendocino fault - one of California's most active faults.

Other widely felt earthquakes:

Note: All times/dates are local PST or PDT. ML is the Local or Richter magnitude as determined by the U.S. Geological Survey; MW is the moment magnitude as determined by the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. The Moment magnitude is calibrated to agree on average with the Richter magnitude. For large earthquakes, the moment magnitude is considered a better measure of energy released. The felt areas of the more widely felt earthquakes are posted on the web at: http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/