[eyedigress]

Damn! What in the last 100 years was ever near that magnitude?

[Helen]

The 1964 Anchorage earthquake

[MediaMole]

The Anchorage earthquake was bigger at 9.2. 8.3 is still a massive quake.

[PghBaldy]

Boxing Dar quake in Indonesia was bigger I think, as was 1964 Alaska quake.

Magnitude Average Annually
8 and higher 1 ¹
7 - 7.9 17 ²
6 - 6.9 134 ²
5 - 5.9 1319 ²
4 - 4.9 13,000
(estimated)
3 - 3.9 130,000
(estimated)
2 - 2.9 1,300,000
(estimated)

¹ Based on observations since 1900.
² Based on observations since 1990.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

[sourcery]

The 2004 Sumatran quake was over 9 (the one that caused the mega-tsunami)

[DuncanWaring]

What in the last 100 years was ever near that magnitude?

Also in Chile, the 9.5 Valdivia Earthquake on May 22, 1960.

[Red in Blue PA]

Largest earthquakes since 1900....this would tie for #5:

Location Date UTC Magnitude Lat. Long. Reference
1. Chile 1960 05 22 9.5 -38.29 -73.05 Kanamori, 1977
2. Prince William Sound, Alaska 1964 03 28 9.2 61.02 -147.65 Kanamori, 1977
3. Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra 2004 12 26 9.1 3.30 95.78 Park et al., 2005
4. Kamchatka 1952 11 04 9.0 52.76 160.06 Kanamori, 1977
5. Off the Coast of Ecuador 1906 01 31 8.8 1.0 -81.5 Kanamori, 1977
6. Rat Islands, Alaska 1965 02 04 8.7 51.21 178.50 Kanamori, 1977
7. Northern Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 03 28 8.6 2.08 97.01 PDE
8. Assam - Tibet 1950 08 15 8.6 28.5 96.5 Kanamori, 1977
9. Andreanof Islands, Alaska 1957 03 09 8.6 51.56 -175.39 Johnson et al., 1994
10. Southern Sumatra, Indonesia 2007 09 12 8.5 -4.438 101.367 PDE

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/10_largest_world.php

[La Enchiladita]

Alaska in the ‘60s was over 9 on the Richter. It tore up everything, the roads were a jumble.