October 9, 1900 Earthquake: Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States
A magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States on October 9, 1900 at 12:25 UTC.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- October 9, 1900
- Time
- 12:25 UTC
- Place
- Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States
- Magnitude
- 8.3 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 57.090° N, 153.480° W
- Country
- United States
- Region
- North America and Hawaii
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
The wharf at Woody Island was partly destroyed; chimneys windows and crockery were destroyed in Kodiak. About 50 slight aftershocks continued through the next day. Felt along all of southern Alaska and probably to the west of Kodiak. (reference #542)
Some damage occurred to buildings and the wharf, and dozens of aftershocks were felt over the next several hours and days [...] Given the evidence, we do not think an significant tsunami occurred for the 1900 earthquake. (reference #12847)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #542 Stover, Carl W., and Jerry L. Coffman (1993). Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 418 p.
- #1038 Bolt, B.A., W.L. Horn, G.A. MacDonald, and R.F. Scott (1977). Geological Hazards: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Avalanches, Landslides, Floods. Revised, 2nd Edition. Springer-Verlag Publishing Co., New York, p 305-312.
- #1006 Richter, Charles F. (1958). Elementary Seismology. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, California, 768 p.
- #12847 Tape, C., Sykes, L., and Lomax, A. (2021). The 1900 Mw 7.6–8.0 Earthquake Offshore of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 111(2), 1080-1109; DOI: 10.1785/0120200273
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 21, 1788, Unga Island, Alaska Peninsula, United States
- December 23, 1906, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States
- March 11, 1970, Andreanof Islands, Alaska, United States
- 1792, Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States
- January 27, 1854, Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States
- November 7, 1912, Alaska Peninsula, Alaska, United States
- September 5, 1866, Kodiak Island, AK, Alaska, United States
- September 29, 1880, Alaska Peninsula, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1900The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1900Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 2580.