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Arizona Earthquake
Information Center @ NAU Global Seismology and
Tectonics Group @ UofA Arizona Geological Survey USGS Earthquake Info AZ Shakes Blog Rapid Earthquake Viewer IRIS Seismic Monitor EarthScope USArray 1887 Great Sonoran Earthquake References
Historically, earthquake activity within the state of Arizona has generally occurred between Flagstaff and the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Areas of relatively higher earthquake hazard for Arizona are in the northwest quarter of the state and the far southwest where the hazard is due to the potential for earthquake rupture along the southernmost San Andreas Fault system of California.
The largest historic events (M6-6.2) occurred in the early twentieth century (1906 and 1912) and have been located by NAU seismologists near and north of Flagstaff. The largest historic earthquake (M7.4) in the region occurred in northern Sonora Mexico in 1887 (about 50 miles south-southeast of Douglas AZ) and caused damage in Tucson and was probably felt in Phoenix.
For additional information about seismicity within Arizona, visit the Arizona Seismic Hazard Update page.
Density (shaded areas) and distribution of earthquakes (black dots) from historical and modern catalogs. Left panel displays events recorded by USArray stations from 2006 to 2009. Right panel contains all other earthquakes recorded in Arizona from 1830 to 2011.
ASU School of Earth & Space Exploration
Last updated: September 8, 2011