Earthquakes in the United States — January 2026

7965 earthquakes were recorded in the United States during January 2026, an average of 256.9 per day.

56 reached magnitude 4 or above and 11 reached magnitude 5 or above. The average focal depth was 14 km.

The month's largest event in the United States was a magnitude 6.0 earthquake near Bandon, United States on 16 January 2026 at 03:25 UTC. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake radiates roughly 15,080 tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

That is close to the the United States monthly average of 7168 events over the period we cover, and up from the 7003 recorded the previous month.

95% of events here are shallow (under 70 km), 5% intermediate (70–300 km) and 0% deep-focus (over 300 km). Almost everything here is crustal. That is characteristic of transform faulting or continental deformation rather than subduction — and it means shaking at the surface is strong for the magnitudes involved.

By band, the catalogue holds 31 in the magnitude -2 range, 289 in the magnitude -1 range, 1939 in the magnitude 0 range, 3920 in the magnitude 1 range, 1418 in the magnitude 2 range, 306 in the magnitude 3 range.

Activity peaked on 20 January, when 569 events were recorded.

14 event(s) this month carry a USGS link to NOAA tsunami information; the flag does not indicate whether a tsunami occurred.

The month's largest events were M6.0 near Bandon, United States on 16 January at 10 km; M5.9 near Attu Station, United States on 15 January at 41 km; M5.7 near Yakutat, United States on 01 January at 9 km.

That is 11% above the 7168 events the United States averages per month across the 21 months on record.