The earliest Arizona earthquakes were recorded at Fort Yuma , on the California side of the Colorado River . They were centered near the Imperial Valley , or Mexico , back in the 1800s . Residents in Douglas felt the 1887 Sonora earthquake with its epicenter 40 miles to the south in the Mexican state of Sonora . The first damaging earthquake known to be centered within Arizona occurred on January 25 , 1906 , also including a series of other earthquakes centered near Socorro , New Mexico . The shock was violent in Flagstaff
1887 Sonora earthquake
1887 Sonora earthquake
Arizona