All earthquakesAlaska

Alaska earthquakes in 1917

11 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Alaska in 1917. The largest: M7.4 54 km SE of Sand Point, Alaska, May 30, 1917.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19161918

Map

Where every quake of 1917 was located in Alaska. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1917

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19170
February 19170
March 19170
April 19170
May 191717.454 km SE of Sand Point, Alaska
June 191736.3298 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska
July 191726.4101 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska
August 19170
September 19170
October 19170
November 191716.1111 km WNW of Attu Station, Alaska
December 191746.688 km SSE of Old Harbor, Alaska

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Alaska nowWorldwide in 1917

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.