M6.6 earthquake 37 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 37 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska on Tue, Jul 12, 1983, 6:10 AM GMT-9 (15:10 UTC), 37 km (23 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1983-07-12 15:10:03 UTC
- Depth
- 37.0 km (23.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 61.031° N, 147.286° W
- Region
- Alaska
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.44 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.47 | Mw, moment | USGS historic United States catalog | Final |
| 6.4 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 4982), matched to this event by time and place.
- Damage
- $1 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Damage (VI) at Valdez. Felt (V) at Chitina, Chugiak, Cooper Landing, Copper Center, Cordova, Fort Richardson, Gakona, Girdwood, Moose Pass, Skwentna, Sutton, Whittier and Willow. Felt (IV) at Anchorage, Palmer and Seward. Felt (III) at Fairbanks and Yakutat. Also felt (III) at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. [FS]. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-WAVES NP1:STRIKE=233;DIP=65;SLIP=-70 NP2:STRIKE=12;DIP=32;SLIP=-126 PRINCIPAL AXES: (T) PLG=18; AZM=308 (P) PLG=64; AZM=177 COMMENT: Poorly controlled normal fault type mechanism with a fair amount of left-lateral strike-slip component. NP1 designated as the fault plane. MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION NO OF STA 14 SCALE 10**25 D-CM DEPTH 35 PRINCIPAL AXES: (T) VAL=7.66; PLG=23; AZM=319 (N) VAL=0.17; PLG=25; AZM=61 (P) VAL=-7.83; PLG=54; AZM=192 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:Mo=7.7*10**25 NP1:STRIKE=9;DIP=31;SLIP=-146 NP2:STRIKE=249;DIP=73;SLIP=-63 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION HARVARD EVENT-FILE NAME C071283C DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 24S, 62C, T=45 MANTLE WAVES: 11S, 29C, T=135 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 15:10: 9.3 0.2 LAT 61.15N 0.03;LON 147.19W 0.03 DEP 40.6 1.0;HALF-DURATION 7.0 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**25 D-CM MRR=-4.81 0.09; MTT=1.34 0.08 MFF=3.47 0.07; MRT=3.29 0.19 MRF=0.87 0.16; MTF=2.04 0.04 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=5.36;PLG=15;AZM=308 2.(N) 0.88; 18; 43 3.(P) -6.24; 66; 180 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=5.8*10**25 NP1:STRIKE=14;DIP=34;SLIP=-123 NP2:Strike=233;Dip=62;Slip=-70
Maximum observed Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VI
From the USGS event page for usp0001wrg. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 18.6% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.6 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.6 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.834 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15789 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
- 3.837 km W of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15788 days ago · 33 km deep · 12 km away
- 4.436 km W of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15766 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.26 km ESE of Glacier View, Alaska · 15765 days ago · 68 km deep · 85 km away
- 6.446 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15732 days ago · 45 km deep · 13 km away
- 3.737 km W of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15732 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
- 5.047 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15732 days ago · 46 km deep · 13 km away
- 3.641 km W of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15731 days ago · 33 km deep · 23 km away
- 3.927 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15731 days ago · 33 km deep · 13 km away
- 4.239 km W of Tatitlek, Alaska · 15729 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001wrg (also filed as gcmtc071283c, ushis3808, gcmt19830712151003, iscgem572014, atlas19830712151004). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 12:48 PM UTC.