M4.6 earthquake 43 km ENE of Atka, Alaska
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 43 km ENE of Atka, Alaska on Thu, Oct 8, 1981, 11:19 PM GMT-10 (09:19 UTC), 68 km (42 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 78 km ESE 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
- 1981-10-09 09:19:48 UTC
- Depth
- 68.2 km (42.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 52.304° N, 173.593° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.778 km ESE of Atka, Alaska · 16404 days ago · 41 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.751 km S of Atka, Alaska · 16389 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.546 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16388 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.351 km SSW of Atka, Alaska · 16381 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.778 km ENE of Atka, Alaska · 16372 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001gc6. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC.