M5.2 earthquake 87 km E of Adak, Alaska
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 87 km E of Adak, Alaska on Fri, Oct 3, 1997, 1:05 PM HADT (22:05 UTC), 62 km (39 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1997-10-03 22:05:41 UTC
- Depth
- 62.3 km (38.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 51.843° N, 175.371° 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. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.13 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (IV) on Adak.
From the USGS event page for usp00088fm. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 260°, dip 31°, rake 108°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 59°, dip 61°, rake 80°
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.991 km S of Atka, Alaska · 10587 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.571 km ESE of Adak, Alaska · 10569 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.555 km SSE of Adak, Alaska · 10566 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
- 5.242 km ESE of Adak, Alaska · 10546 days ago · 51 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.131 km ESE of Adak, Alaska · 10537 days ago · 61 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.280 km SSE of Adak, Alaska · 10531 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00088fm (also filed as gcmtb100397g, gcmt19971003220541, iscgem1045442). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 12:03 AM UTC.