All earthquakesAlaska

Alaska earthquakes in 1946

13 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Alaska in 1946. The largest: M8.6 The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska Earthquake, Apr 1, 1946.

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

19451947

Map

Where every quake of 1946 was located in Alaska. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1946

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 194616.592 km SSE of Lowell Point, Alaska
February 19460
March 19460
April 194688.6The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska Earthquake
May 19460
June 19460
July 194616.2174 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
August 19460
September 19460
October 194616.583 km SE of Akutan, Alaska
November 194626.857 km SSW of Atka, Alaska
December 19460

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 1946

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.