Alaska

Hawaii

British Columbia

Nevada

California

None

A world map of earthquake activity from 2000 to 2019. Circles of varying sizes represent earthquake magnitudes, with larger circles for higher magnitudes. Significant activity is noted in Colombia, Iran, Turkey, Tanzania, and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Time series data showing locations and Richter scale magnitudes of significant earthquakes from 1800 BCE to 2019. Use timeline controls at bottom of the map to display data by time period.

Earthquakes

World

NOAA

Richter scale magnitude

Arizona

Utah

Idaho

Washington

Wyoming

Montana

North Dakota

Kentucky

Virginia

Saskatchewan

Mississippi

West Virginia

Nebraska

Texas

Missouri

Louisiana

Oregon

Alabama

New Mexico

Kansas

Wisconsin

Michigan

Alberta

Pennsylvania

Colorado

Maryland

Manitoba

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Ontario

Arkansas

South Dakota

Ohio

Indiana

Minnesota

Iowa

Illinois

A map highlights the regions of the world with areas affected by wind erosion highlighted in dark red and water erosion-affected areas highlighted in dark blue.

Areas of soil degradation where human activities result in high or very high levels of water and wind erosion

Soil Erosion

In North America, wind erosion significantly impacts the Great Plains in southern Canada and the adjacent northern Great Plains of the United States. This issue extends to the southern plains, affecting regions in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Water erosion is prevalent in the eastern plains, the Midwest, parts of the Mississippi River Valley, Michigan, southern Ontario, and the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. In the western United States, water erosion affects parts of California and eastern Washington, while wind erosion is notable in the deserts of southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. Western Mexico faces water erosion along its length, which continues through Central America to Panama and includes major Caribbean islands like Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Wind erosion is also observed in northern Mexico. In South America, water erosion is prominent along the Andes mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia, in central Chile south of Santiago, and along Brazil's Atlantic coast from Recife southward to southeastern areas. The southern Andes of Bolivia and northern Chile experience wind erosion, as does east-central Brazil. Northwestern Europe sees minimal soil erosion, but water erosion does occur in Spain, southeastern and central Europe, and western Russia, extending into Siberia in Asia. Ukraine and southern Russia are susceptible to wind erosion. In North Africa, wind erosion affects the northern Sahara from Algeria to western Egypt and extends across the Sahel from Mauritania to Sudan. Sub-Saharan Africa has scattered water erosion patches in West Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southern Africa (notably South Africa), and Madagascar. Southwest Asia experiences widespread wind erosion on the Arabian Peninsula and in Iran, while water erosion impacts Turkey, northern Iran, Yemen, and southern Oman. Central Asia faces water erosion in northwestern Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. In South Asia, northwest India deals with wind erosion, whereas water erosion is widespread across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and parts of Bangladesh. Southeast Asia encounters extensive water erosion in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia (particularly Borneo and Java). East Asia experiences water erosion in large parts of eastern China and wind erosion in northern China, eastern Mongolia, and various areas in western China. In Oceania, small areas of water erosion are found in eastern and western Australia, Vanuatu, and New Zealand’s North Island.

ISRIC World Soil Information

Yukon

Northwest Territories

District of Columbia

Florida

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Nunavut

Maine

Nova Scotia

Delaware

Prince Edward Island

North Carolina

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

New Jersey

South Carolina

Connecticut

Massachusetts

Georgia

New York

Québec

A map shows major drainage basins depicted as blue dashed lines. Some of the notable basins include Columbia, Colorado in North America; Amazon, Orinoco in South America; Niger in Africa; Danube in Europe; Indus in Asia; and Murray-Darling in Australia.

The world's drainage basins: land areas where surface water converges to a single point

Display by:	Earthquakes									Soil Erosion		Major Drainage Basins
	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Earthquakes	Wind erosion	Water erosion	Major Drainage Basins
Hawaii											57.1%
Alaska		1										98.0%
Arizona										4.22%		95.5%
Utah										0.308%		47.8%
Yukon												26.5%
Northwest Territories												44.0%
District of Columbia												100%
Florida												98.4%
Idaho											3.94%	0.316%
New Hampshire												0.302%
Rhode Island												92.6%
Vermont												4.27%
Washington											36.9%	27.9%
Wyoming										6.47%	2.84%	21.0%
Nunavut												96.5%
Montana										17.8%		0.445%
Maine												23.3%
North Dakota										95.1%	0.109%	42.0%
Kentucky											5.48%	100%
Nova Scotia												94.2%
Virginia											7.05%	55.4%
Delaware												97.0%
Prince Edward Island												61.9%
Saskatchewan										12.1%		46.3%
Mississippi											21.9%	49.8%
West Virginia											11.5%	15.3%
Nebraska										0.826%	52.2%	100%
Texas										23.3%	0.427%	18.4%
Missouri											60.6%	100%
Louisiana											1.69%	91.0%
North Carolina												12.8%
Oregon											5.56%	2.50%
New Brunswick												40.2%
Alabama											7.26%	13.6%
New Mexico										67.8%		54.2%
Kansas										12.3%	62.5%	100%
Wisconsin											43.5%	69.3%
British Columbia												31.2%
Newfoundland and Labrador												0.795%
New Jersey												97.8%
South Carolina												99.9%
Michigan											1.12%	100%
Alberta										4.93%		29.9%
Connecticut												1.05%
Pennsylvania											25.9%	64.1%
Colorado										30.2%	6.74%	7.14%
Nevada	1									11.8%		10.9%
Massachusetts												2.45%
Georgia												2.66%
New York												45.5%
Maryland											5.23%	93.5%
Québec												64.3%
Manitoba										6.10%		47.7%
Oklahoma										29.4%	17.9%	100%
Tennessee											12.6%	99.9%
Ontario											2.00%	11.8%
California	1									19.7%	24.3%	2.37%
Arkansas											4.12%	100%
South Dakota										48.9%	18.4%	0.773%
Ohio											4.56%	71.3%
Indiana											12.0%	89.5%
Minnesota										9.96%	35.6%	35.3%
Iowa											100%	100%
Illinois											84.6%	98.7%

MapMaster 3

Earthquakes