M5.2 earthquake 79 km SE of Atka, Alaska
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 79 km SE of Atka, Alaska on Sat, Nov 15, 1997, 6:49 PM HAST (04:49 UTC), 33 km (21 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
- 1997-11-16 04:49:40 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 51.658° N, 173.431° 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 |
| 5.14 | 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 (III) on Adak.
From the USGS event page for usp0008art. 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 289°, dip 28°, rake 100°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 98°, dip 63°, rake 85°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
Before
Earthquakes todayAlaska earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0008art (also filed as gcmtb111697a, gcmt19971116044940, iscgem1052751). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:44 AM UTC.