M4.8 earthquake 86 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 86 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska on Sun, Apr 16, 1978, 6:49 PM GMT-11 (05:49 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 109 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-04-17 05:49:51 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 54.147° N, 163.962° W
- Region
- Alaska
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 29
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4131 km S of False Pass, Alaska · 17687 days ago · 51 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.9109 km ESE of Akutan, Alaska · 17665 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
- 4.465 km SSW of False Pass, Alaska · 17662 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.495 km SE of False Pass, Alaska · 17644 days ago · 21 km deep · 98 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000u51. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:55 PM UTC.