Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde has catalogued 4 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 158th of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M6.5.
Cabo Verde ranks 158th of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 0 M4+ events a year alongside 3 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. The M6+ record here is thin - 3 events in all, so a single quake moves every figure on this page.
- 4
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 3
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M6.5
- Strongest
- ~0
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Cabo Verde is relatively quiet seismically compared to most places tracked here, with 4 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 3 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.5.
- 1938
- busiest year (1 major events)
- 12 km
- average recorded event depth
- 100%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.7 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Jordan sits immediately above at 5 events and Bahamas sits immediately below at 3.
Catalog event strip
Event tape CABO-VERDE · Cabo Verde M4+ · 158th/187
Cabo Verde · 4 M4+ · max M6.5 · 3 M6+
- DEPTH 4
- PHOTO 158th/187
- BUSY M6.5
- SHAL 3
- PCT near Jordan
- VS-PEER 100% shallow
Stamps derive from this country's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Reading earthquake data → · All country catalog rows → · Countries ranked →
Where Cabo Verde sits in the catalog
Rank 158th of 187 tracked countries (14th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Jordan sits immediately above at 5 events and Bahamas sits immediately below at 3.
Same M4+ count, broken by peak magnitude
4 tracked countries share Cabo Verde's exact count of 4 M4+ events since 2005. Among that cohort, Cabo Verde ranks 1st of 4 by strongest recorded magnitude (M4.9).
| Country | M4+ count | Strongest |
|---|---|---|
| Cabo Verde (this page) | 4 | M4.9 |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 4 | M4.5 |
| Montserrat | 4 | M4.1 |
Major (M6+) earthquakes in Cabo Verde by year
Count of significant (magnitude 6.0+) events catalogued each year
- 1938
1938: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1941
1941: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1993
1993: 1 major (M6+) events
1
What this shows Cabo Verde's most active year for major earthquakes was 1938 (1 M6+ events). Major-quake counts are irregular, they track the episodic release of tectonic stress, not a smooth trend.
0 of 4 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Magnitude distribution of major events
Breakdown of the 3 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Cabo Verde.
M6.0-6.9
3
100.0%
Depth of major earthquakes
Hypocentral depth of the 3 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 12 km.
Shallow (<70 km)
3
100.0% of events
Intermediate (70–300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Deep (>300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Strongest earthquakes in Cabo Verde
The 3 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | 267 km NNW of Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde | 10.0 km | Aug 15, 1941 |
| 6.4 | 253 km NW of Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde | 12.0 km | May 29, 1993 |
| 6.0 | 252 km NNW of Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde | 15.0 km | Feb 15, 1938 |
Significant earthquake record (3 events)
Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Cabo Verde since 1900, most recent first.
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.4 | 253 km NW of Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde | 12.0 km | May 29, 1993 |
| 6.5 | 267 km NNW of Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde | 10.0 km | Aug 15, 1941 |
| 6.0 | 252 km NNW of Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde | 15.0 km | Feb 15, 1938 |
Other countries in this catalog sample
A Cabo Verde-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Federated States of Micronesia
59 M4+ events · strongest M6.3
Pakistan
1,270 M4+ events · strongest M7.7
Panama
708 M4+ events · strongest M6.7
Czechia
6 M4+ events · strongest M4.4
Croatia
65 M4+ events · strongest M6.4
Republic of the Congo
1 M4+ events · strongest M4.2
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second Cabo Verde-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.
Showing 6 of 186 countries with a recorded max magnitude.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.