Alaska earthquakes

M4.3 earthquake 95 km SW of Atka, Alaska

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 95 km SW of Atka, Alaska on Sun, May 17, 1981, 6:38 PM GMT-10 (04:38 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.7 83 km SW of Atka, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.3 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1981-05-18 04:38:56 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
51.670° N, 175.292° 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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.3149 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16563 days ago · 51 km deep · 82 km away
  2. 4.783 km SW of Atka, Alaska · 16563 days ago · 44 km deep · 18 km away
  3. 3.9115 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16563 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away
  4. 4.371 km SW of Atka, Alaska · 16563 days ago · 52 km deep · 24 km away
  5. 4.587 km SW of Atka, Alaska · 16563 days ago · 47 km deep · 17 km away
  6. 4.696 km SW of Atka, Alaska · 16562 days ago · 48 km deep · 27 km away
  7. 4.494 km SW of Atka, Alaska · 16561 days ago · 43 km deep · 28 km away
  8. 4.261 km NE of Adak, Alaska · 16529 days ago · 164 km deep · 89 km away
  9. 4.988 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16505 days ago · 41 km deep · 40 km away
  10. 5.0100 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16505 days ago · 39 km deep · 49 km away
  11. 5.0103 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16505 days ago · 36 km deep · 48 km away

Before

  1. 5.0115 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16563 days ago · 37 km deep · 45 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001dr3. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:37 AM UTC.