Earthquake History Map
Significant earthquakes and tsunamis on a world timeline — drag the year, or press play
Tips
Drag the Timeline — or Let It Play
Move the year slider to jump to any moment since 1900, or press play and watch decades of seismic history sweep across the globe. Recent events glow bright and older ones fade, so you can see activity clusters build up and dissolve.
Circle Size Is Magnitude, Color Is Type
Every circle is one recorded event: the bigger the circle, the stronger the earthquake. Orange circles are earthquakes, blue ones are tsunamis. Because the magnitude scale is logarithmic, a magnitude 9 circle dwarfs a magnitude 6 on purpose.
Human Figures Put Numbers in Scale
Tap any circle and the popup shows casualties as rows of human silhouettes — one figure per thousand people, half a figure for five hundred. Seeing eighteen figures for one event and a fraction of one for another says more than the raw numbers do.
The Map Wraps Around — Center It Anywhere
Drag the map sideways and it rotates like a globe: the Pacific Ring of Fire, usually cut in half at the map edge, can sit whole in the middle of your screen. Tokyo, Los Angeles, or Santiago — put whatever coastline you are curious about front and center.
Common Use Cases
Geography and Earth Science Class
Play the timeline and the Pacific Ring of Fire draws itself. Plate boundaries emerge from data alone — no textbook diagram needed.
History in Context
Look up the great quakes that shaped cities and coastlines — 1906 San Francisco, 1923 Kanto, 2004 Sumatra — and see what else was shaking that decade.
News Background Research
When an earthquake makes headlines, check the region's past: how often it shakes, how strong it got, and whether tsunamis followed.
Travel and Relocation Awareness
Curious how seismically active a destination has been over the last century? A minute of scrubbing gives an honest picture.
Data Storytelling
Writers and educators can capture moments like the 1960 Valdivia quake — the largest ever recorded — framed exactly how they want.
Disaster Preparedness at Home
Knowing what has actually struck your region — and how often — is the first step of preparedness. Read this map alongside your local hazard map when reviewing supplies and evacuation plans.