All earthquakesAlaska

Alaska earthquakes in 1962

20 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Alaska in 1962. The largest: M6.5 86 km S of Nikolski, Alaska, Dec 22, 1962.

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

19611963

Map

Where every quake of 1962 was located in Alaska. Select one for its page.

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Every quake of 1962

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 196215.9Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
February 19620
March 19620
April 196225.5129 km S of False Pass, Alaska
May 196226.0161 km WSW of Nikolski, Alaska
June 196215.547 km NW of Skwentna, Alaska
July 196226.069 km WNW of Skwentna, Alaska
August 196236.2219 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
September 196226.0225 km WSW of Adak, Alaska
October 196215.763 km ESE of Adak, Alaska
November 19620
December 196266.586 km S of Nikolski, 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 1962

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.