Alaska earthquakes

M4.2 earthquake 149 km WSW of Adak, Alaska

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 149 km WSW of Adak, Alaska on Thu, Mar 21, 1996, 2:11 AM HAST (12:11 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 132 km WSW of Adak, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
1996-03-21 12:11:09 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
51.379° N, 178.645° W
Region
Alaska
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.ScaleComputed byNotes
4.2mb, body-waveUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed · 24 stations
4.2mb, body-waveAlaska Earthquake CenterPreliminary

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: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.9161 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11140 days ago · 33 km deep · 15 km away
  2. 5.5132 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11123 days ago · 28 km deep · 17 km away
  3. 5.5126 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11121 days ago · 29 km deep · 23 km away
  4. 3.8233 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11110 days ago · 60 km deep · 84 km away
  5. 3.7226 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11110 days ago · 66 km deep · 77 km away
  6. 4.0228 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11110 days ago · 64 km deep · 81 km away
  7. 4.7120 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11107 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away

Before

  1. 4.3235 km WSW of Adak, Alaska · 11167 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0007f21 (also filed as ak9963q5qoym). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:25 PM UTC.