Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Saint Helena
Saint Helena has catalogued 184 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 63rd of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M6.1.
Saint Helena ranks 63rd of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 9 M4+ events a year alongside 4 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. The M6+ record here is thin - 4 events in all, so a single quake moves every figure on this page.
- 184
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 4
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M6.1
- Strongest
- ~9
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Saint Helena is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 184 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 4 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.1.
- 1922
- busiest year (1 major events)
- 11 km
- average recorded event depth
- 100%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.8 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Iraq sits immediately above at 185 events and Romania sits immediately below at 183.
Where Saint Helena sits in the catalog
Rank 63rd of 187 tracked countries (66th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Iraq sits immediately above at 185 events and Romania sits immediately below at 183.
Saint Helena's M4+ count vs. every tracked country
Total catalogued M4+ events since 2005, USGS ComCat
184 Top 34% higher than 66% of 187 countries
Each bar is a 500-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) · 2005-present
How Saint Helena compares to its nearest peers
Saint Helena ranks in the 66th percentile for M4+ frequency among all 187 tracked countries. Plotted here against its 20 nearest-ranked peers by how OFTEN they shake (M4+ count) against how HARD the strongest one ever hit (max recorded magnitude).
Read the chart (all 21 values)
| Country | M4+ events | Strongest magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| Honduras | 269 | M7.5 |
| Djibouti | 260 | M5.5 |
| Algeria | 245 | M6.0 |
| Mayotte | 232 | M5.9 |
| Haiti | 217 | M7.2 |
| MX | 202 | M5.8 |
| Mongolia | 196 | M6.7 |
| South Africa | 191 | M5.4 |
| Morocco | 187 | M6.8 |
| Iraq | 185 | M7.3 |
| Saint Helena (this page) | 184 | M6.0 |
| Romania | 183 | M5.6 |
| Kazakhstan | 174 | M6.1 |
| Azerbaijan | 169 | M5.6 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 161 | M6.8 |
| Guadeloupe | 152 | M6.5 |
| Turkmenistan | 143 | M5.4 |
| Mauritius | 135 | M6.0 |
| Zimbabwe | 135 | M7.0 |
| Poland | 130 | M5.0 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 129 | M6.6 |
Major (M6+) earthquakes in Saint Helena by year
Count of significant (magnitude 6.0+) events catalogued each year
- 1922
1922: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1947
1947: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 2001
2001: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 2011
2011: 1 major (M6+) events
1
What this shows Saint Helena's most active year for major earthquakes was 1922 (1 M6+ events). Major-quake counts are irregular, they track the episodic release of tectonic stress, not a smooth trend.
1 of 184 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Magnitude distribution of major events
Breakdown of the 4 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Saint Helena.
M6.0-6.9
4
100.0%
Depth of major earthquakes
Hypocentral depth of the 4 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 11 km.
Shallow (<70 km)
4
100.0% of events
Intermediate (70–300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Deep (>300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Strongest earthquakes in Saint Helena
The 4 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 144 km SSE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 15.0 km | Mar 10, 1947 |
| 6.1 | 245 km ENE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 10.0 km | Nov 8, 1922 |
| 6.0 | 221 km ENE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 10.0 km | Aug 10, 2011 |
| 6.0 | 206 km NE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 10.0 km | Mar 7, 2001 |
Significant earthquake record (4 events)
Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Saint Helena since 1900, most recent first.
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 221 km ENE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 10.0 km | Aug 10, 2011 |
| 6.0 | 206 km NE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 10.0 km | Mar 7, 2001 |
| 6.1 | 144 km SSE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 15.0 km | Mar 10, 1947 |
| 6.1 | 245 km ENE of Georgetown, Saint Helena | 10.0 km | Nov 8, 1922 |
Other countries in this catalog sample
A Saint Helena-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second Saint Helena-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.
Understand the data
Frequently asked questions
How many earthquakes have occurred in Saint Helena? ▼
What was the strongest earthquake in Saint Helena? ▼
How seismically active is Saint Helena? ▼
How deep are earthquakes in Saint Helena? ▼
Where does this data come from? ▼
About Saint Helena's figures
184 M4+ events since 2005 · strongest M6.1 · average M4.8 · 4 M6+ significant events since 1900 · latest M4+ catalog stamp Jun 20, 2026. Computed from the USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat). See the methodology and USGS ComCat.
Disclaimer: PlainQuake is informational only, not an emergency service or engineering advice. See our full disclaimer.
What Saint Helena's numbers mean
Saint Helena ranks 63rd of 187 countries tracked - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity.
- About 9 M4+ earthquakes strike Saint Helena per year on average, though major (M6+) activity is episodic - 1922 was the busiest year on record with 1 significant events. See the full country ranking
- 100% of Saint Helena's catalogued major earthquakes are shallow (under 70km) - shallow events generally produce stronger surface shaking than deep ones of the same magnitude. How depth affects shaking
- The strongest catalogued event reached M6.1. Compare against neighboring or similarly-ranked countries before drawing conclusions from magnitude alone. Compare strongest earthquakes
Figures reflect the USGS ComCat catalog (M4+ since 2005, M6+ significant events since 1900) - not a real-time hazard assessment. For official guidance, see the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 315,341 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,428 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 2026-07-19.