This list of 20th-century earthquakes is a global list of notable earthquakes that occurred in the 20th century. After 1900 most earthquakes have some degree of instrumental records and this means that the locations and magnitudes are more reliable than for earlier events. To prevent this list becoming unmanageable, only those of magnitude 6 and above are included unless they are notable for some other reason. List of deadliest earthquakes List of largest earthquakes by magnitude Note: At least 8.5+ magnitude 1901–1910 1911–1920 1921–1930 1931–1940 1941–1950 1951–1960 1961–1970 1971–1980 1981–1990 1991–2000 Key to magnitudes ML = Local magnitude (Richter) MS = Surface wave magnitude Mw = Moment magnitude See also Lists of earthquakes References Earthquakes Seismic history Seismology related lists