Frequency of Earthquakes Worldwide
| Descriptor |
Magnitude |
Annual average |
| Great |
8 or higher |
11 |
| Major |
7–7.9 |
172 |
| Strong |
6–6.9 |
1342 |
| Moderate |
5–5.9 |
1,3192 |
| Light |
4–4.9 |
c. 13,000 |
| Minor |
3–3.9 |
c. 130,000 |
| Very minor |
2–2.9 |
c. 1,300,000 |
1. Based on observations since 1900. 2.
Based on observations since 1990. NOTE: The NEIC estimates that several
million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected
because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes.
Source: National Earthquake Information
Center, U.S. Geological Survey.
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Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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