M4.6 earthquake 45 km ESE of Atka, Alaska
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 45 km ESE of Atka, Alaska on Mon, Mar 19, 1979, 9:02 PM GMT-11 (08:02 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 62 km SSE of Atka, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-03-20 08:02:16 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 52.044° N, 173.579° 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
- 11
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.962 km SSE of Atka, Alaska · 17324 days ago · 49 km deep · 48 km away
- 4.464 km ESE of Atka, Alaska · 17307 days ago · 33 km deep · 20 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000zhc. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:16 PM UTC.