Alaska earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 216 km WSW of Adak, Alaska

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 216 km WSW of Adak, Alaska on Tue, Dec 4, 1979, 9:32 PM GMT-11 (08:32 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 217 km WSW of Adak, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.8 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1979-12-05 08:32:45 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
50.987° N, 179.409° 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
25

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.5296 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17072 days ago · 53 km deep · 88 km away
  2. 4.4292 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17071 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
  3. 4.5175 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17060 days ago · 57 km deep · 43 km away
  4. 4.9217 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17058 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
  5. 4.9216 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17051 days ago · 50 km deep · 30 km away
  6. 5.8142 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17048 days ago · 50 km deep · 74 km away

Before

  1. 4.5133 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17099 days ago · 58 km deep · 84 km away
  2. 4.6119 km SW of Adak, Alaska · 17104 days ago · 47 km deep · 99 km away
  3. 3.9165 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 17110 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00014bd. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:44 AM UTC.