Alaska earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake northern Alaska

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in northern Alaska on Sun, Jul 12, 1981, 4:33 AM GMT-10 (14:33 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 66 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.8 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1981-07-12 14:33:54 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
67.644° N, 161.604° 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

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.966 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16507 days ago · 12 km deep · 17 km away
  2. 3.956 km E of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16507 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
  3. 4.576 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
  4. 4.162 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16495 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
  5. 3.263 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16486 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away

Before

  1. 3.3northern Alaska · 16508 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
  2. 4.047 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16508 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
  3. 3.560 km ENE of Noatak, Alaska · 16508 days ago · 33 km deep · 12 km away
  4. 5.276 km E of Noatak, Alaska · 16508 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
  5. 4.669 km ESE of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16513 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
  6. 3.673 km E of Noatak, Alaska · 16513 days ago · 33 km deep · 15 km away
  7. 4.797 km E of Red Dog Mine, Alaska · 16514 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
  8. 4.958 km ENE of Noatak, Alaska · 16516 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ene (also filed as iscgem623528, iscgemsup623528). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:58 AM UTC.