Major Earthquakes around the World, 2008 The following table lists the date, location, and magnitude of major earthquakes around the world during 2008. DateLocationMagnitude1 Jan. 5Queen Charlotte Islands Region6.6 Jan. 10Off the coast of Oregon6.4 Feb. 20Simeulue, Indonesia7.4 Feb. 24Neveda6.0 Feb. 25Kepulauan Mentawai Region, Indonesia7.0 March 21Xinjiang-Xizang Border Region7.2 April 9Loyalty Islands7.3 April 18Illinois5.2 May 12China7.9 June 13Eastern Honshu, Japan6.9 July 19Honshu, Japan7.0 Oct. 6Kyrgyzstan6.6 Oct. 11Russia6.3 Oct. 29Pakistan6.4 Nov. 16Indonesia7.3 Dec. 20Japan6.3 Source:Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology: Earthquake Events 2008: IRIS NOTE: A major earthquake is defined here as having a magnitude of 6.0 or more. 1. Unless otherwise indicated, magnitudes listed are moment magnitudes, the newest, most uniformly applicable magnitude scale.