Listed the earthquake with moment magnitude scale or Richter magnitude scale 8.5 and above. This list may be biased towards recent years due to the development and widespread deployment of seismometers. Records detailed enough to make magnitude estimates were not generally available before 1900.
May 22, 1960 Valdivia, Chile 1960 Valdivia earthquake 9.5
March 27, 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA 1964 Alaska earthquake 9.2
December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 9.1–9.3
November 4, 1952 Kamchatka, Russia (then USSR) 1952 Kamchatka earthquakes 9.0
March 11, 2011 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 2011 Tōhoku earthquake 9.0
November 25, 1833 Sumatra, Indonesia 1833 Sumatra earthquake 8.8–9.2
January 31, 1906 Ecuador – Colombia 1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake 8.8
February 27, 2010 Maule, Chile 2010 Chile earthquake 8.8
January 26, 1700 Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada 1700 Cascadia earthquake 8.7–9.2 (est.)
July 8, 1730 Valparaiso, Chile 1730 Valparaiso earthquake 8.7–9.0 (est.)
November 1, 1755 Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon, Portugal 1755 Lisbon earthquake 8.7
February 4, 1965 Rat Islands, Alaska, USA 1965 Rat Islands earthquake 8.7
July 9, 0869 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 869 Sanriku earthquake 8.6 (est.)
August 15, 1950 Assam, India – Tibet, China 1950 Medog earthquake 8.6
March 9, 1957 Andreanof Islands, Alaska, USA 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake 8.6
March 28, 2005 Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 Sumatra earthquake 8.6
August 13, 1868 Arica, Chile (then Peru) 1868 Arica earthquake 8.5–9.0 (est.)
December 16, 1575 Valdivia, Chile (Kingdom of Chile) 1575 Valdivia earthquake 8.5
October 20, 1687 Lima, Peru (Viceroyalty of Peru) 1687 Peru earthquake 8.5 (est.)
May 24, 1751 Concepción, Chile (Kingdom of Chile) 1751 Concepción earthquake 8.5 (est.)
November 11, 1922 Atacama Region, Chile 1922 Vallenar earthquake 8.5
February 3, 1923 Kamchatka, Russia (USSR) 1923 Kamchatka earthquakes 8.5
February 1, 1938 Banda Sea, Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) 1938 Banda Sea earthquake 8.5
October 13, 1963 Kuril Islands, Russia (USSR) 1963 Kuril Islands earthquake 8.5
September 12, 2007 Sumatra, Indonesia 2007 Sumatra earthquakes 8.5
