The 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile leads the U.S. Geological Survey’s December 2025 ranking at magnitude 9.5. The 1964 southern Alaska earthquake follows at 9.2, and the Sumatra–Andaman and Tōhoku earthquakes both have a reported magnitude of 9.1 (Earthquake Hazards Program, 2025).
Numbers on the Pacific-centered map connect epicenters to the USGS ranking. Three events share a reported magnitude of 8.8, including the July 2025 Kamchatka earthquake (Earthquake Hazards Program, 2019, 2025; U.S. Geological Survey, 2025).
References
Earthquake Hazards Program. (2019, June 26). 20 largest earthquakes in the world since 1900. U.S. Geological Survey. https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/science/20-largest-earthquakes-world-1900
Earthquake Hazards Program. (2025, December 4). 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded (updated 2025). U.S. Geological Survey. https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/10-largest-earthquakes-ever-recorded
Natural Earth. (n.d.). Land (Version 4.0.0) [Data set]. https://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/110m-physical-vectors/110m-land/
U.S. Geological Survey. (2025, October 17). Did You Feel It? Community internet intensity map for the 2025 Kamchatka earthquake [Map]. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/product/dyfi/us6000qw60/us/1760740890200/us6000qw60_ciim.pdf
Banner credit
Ridgecrest Earthquake – Documenting Ruptures by Kendrick (USGS). Public domain. Cropped, color-adjusted and shaded near the lower edge. Shows the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake as an example of surface rupture.
