All earthquakesAlaska

Alaska earthquakes in 1948

9 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Alaska in 1948. The largest: M7.1 90 km SE of King Cove, Alaska, May 14, 1948.

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

19471949

Map

Where every quake of 1948 was located in Alaska. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1948

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 194816.1120 km ESE of Attu Station, Alaska
February 194816.230 km SSW of Fort Greely, Alaska
March 19480
April 19480
May 194837.190 km SE of King Cove, Alaska
June 194816.0108 km SSW of Akhiok, Alaska
July 19480
August 19480
September 194816.2Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
October 19480
November 194816.1246 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
December 194816.1Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, 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 1948

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.