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Home / Earthquakes / Alaska

Alaska Earthquake History

Since October 9, 1900, the USGS has recorded 5,198 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater in Alaska, 420 of them magnitude 6 or above. The strongest was M 9.2.

By decade

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Strongest in Alaska

M 9.2 · The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska EarthquakeMarch 28, 1964M 8.6 · The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska EarthquakeApril 1, 1946M 8.2 · 1938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938M 8.2 · 2021 Chignik, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 29, 2021M 7.9 · 261 km SE of Chiniak, AlaskaJanuary 23, 2018M 7.9 · 2002 Denali Fault, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 3, 2002M 7.9 · 200 km WSW of Yakutat, AlaskaNovember 30, 1987M 7.9 · Kodiak Island region, AlaskaOctober 9, 1900M 7.8 · 81 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965M 7.8 · 22 km W of Elfin Cove, AlaskaJuly 10, 1958

All recorded earthquakes

M 4.6 mlOctober 6, 1978
38 km WNW of Willow, Alaska · depth 6 km
M 4.5 mbSeptember 21, 1978
36 km W of Tyonek, Alaska · depth 81 km
M 4.7 mbSeptember 15, 1978
58 km ENE of Pedro Bay, Alaska · depth 128 km
M 5.1 mbSeptember 7, 1978
98 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska · depth 40 km
M 4.8 mbAugust 25, 1978
66 km E of Akutan, Alaska · depth 64 km
M 4.9 mbAugust 25, 1978
43 km SW of Unalaska, Alaska · depth 49 km
M 4.6 mbAugust 19, 1978
93 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 26 km
M 5.4 mbAugust 18, 1978
33 km ENE of Pedro Bay, Alaska · depth 123 km
M 4.8 mbAugust 8, 1978
186 km WSW of Nikolski, Alaska · depth 43 km
M 4.5 mbAugust 3, 1978
89 km WNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.7 mbJuly 25, 1978
66 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 5.0 mbJuly 23, 1978
85 km E of Cantwell, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 5.7 mbJuly 19, 1978
101 km SSE of Chiniak, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 5.8 mbJuly 13, 1978
77 km S of Nikolski, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.9 mbJuly 10, 1978
129 km S of False Pass, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.8 mbJune 27, 1978
126 km S of Akhiok, Alaska · depth 15 km
M 4.6 mbJune 20, 1978
73 km SSE of Ugashik, Alaska · depth 99 km
M 4.8 mbJune 10, 1978
47 km SW of Cordova, Alaska · depth 20 km
M 4.5 mbJune 10, 1978
50 km SE of Egegik, Alaska · depth 10 km
M 4.9 mbJune 9, 1978
63 km SSE of Nikolski, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.7 mbMay 21, 1978
104 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.9 mbMay 12, 1978
109 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 5.1 mbMay 12, 1978
25 km ENE of Susitna North, Alaska · depth 67 km
M 5.2 mbMay 5, 1978
46 km SE of Denali National Park, Alaska · depth 134 km
M 4.7 mbApril 27, 1978
78 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.5 mbApril 25, 1978
46 km NE of Pedro Bay, Alaska · depth 171 km
M 4.7 mbApril 22, 1978
Kodiak Island region, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.6 mbApril 19, 1978
43 km E of Port Alsworth, Alaska · depth 158 km
M 4.5 mbApril 18, 1978
96 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.8 mbApril 17, 1978
86 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 4.9 mbApril 16, 1978
68 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 24 km
M 4.5 mbApril 13, 1978
134 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 5.1 mbApril 12, 1978
75 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 27 km
M 4.6 mbApril 12, 1978
103 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 19 km
M 5.1 mbApril 12, 1978
93 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 24 km
M 4.6 mbApril 12, 1978
105 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 15 km
M 4.7 mbApril 12, 1978
76 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 16 km
M 4.6 mbApril 12, 1978
2 km ENE of Womens Bay, Alaska · depth 87 km
M 4.7 mbApril 12, 1978
91 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska · depth 33 km
M 5.2 mbApril 12, 1978
39 km SE of Akhiok, Alaska · depth 23 km

Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program. Older and smaller earthquakes are under-counted relative to recent decades as instrumentation improved. A record of past shaking is not a forecast. See About the Data.