Alaska earthquakes

M6.0 earthquake 75 km S of Atka, Alaska

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 75 km S of Atka, Alaska on Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 4:35 PM HADT (01:35 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.0 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 4:35 PM HADT
UTC: 2016-03-19 01:35:12 UTC
Depth: 17.0 km (10.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 51.514° N, 174.142° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 1
Strongest shaking: IV, light shaking
PAGER alert: Green
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
6.0	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
6.05	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.1	Mw, moment	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary
6.0	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
5.8	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt on Atka.

From the USGS event page for us20005axu. 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: IV, light shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude: 6.0 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 51°, dip 68°, rake 78°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 261°, dip 25°, rake 118°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.5 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 25°
Stations used: 349

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.0 and up: 43 in the 60 days after this one and 49 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20005axu (also filed as ak13001908, gcmt20160319013512, ak0163mo9dmg, iscgem608490750). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC.