M3.8 earthquake 9 km NW of Fox River, Alaska

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 9 km NW of Fox River, Alaska on Sun, Nov 17, 1996, 3:04 PM AKST (00:04 UTC), 41 km (25 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.2 8 km S of Happy Valley, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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
3.8	ML, local (Richter)	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preferred · Preliminary
3.6	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · 1 stations

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 65 in the 60 days after this one and 31 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 65.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ak996eu6m2b5 (also filed as usp0007t5n). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 1:26 PM UTC.