All earthquakesAlaska

Alaska earthquakes in 1960

16 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Alaska in 1960. The largest: M6.8 187 km S of Nikolski, Alaska, Nov 12, 1960.

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

19591961

Map

Where every quake of 1960 was located in Alaska. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1960

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19600
February 196026.0117 km SW of Adak, Alaska
March 19600
April 19600
May 196015.8Alaska Peninsula
June 196015.993 km SE of Atka, Alaska
July 196016.1189 km S of Adak, Alaska
August 196036.5Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
September 196036.084 km SSE of Akhiok, Alaska
October 196026.5143 km ESE of Atka, Alaska
November 196026.8187 km S of Nikolski, Alaska
December 196015.5105 km NNW of Adak, 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 1960

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.