December 31, 1901 Earthquake: Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States

Name: December 31, 1901 Earthquake: Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States
Start: 1901-12-31
Location: Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States

December 31, 1901 · M7.8

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States on December 31, 1901 at 09:02:30 UTC. It caused a tsunami.

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: December 31, 1901
Time: 09:02:30 UTC
Place: Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States
Magnitude: 7.8 (Ms)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 51.450° N, 171.020° W
Country: United States

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.

Reference #414:

1901, December 30-31. There was an earthquake on the Kenai Peninsula. It apparently caused some destruction. The earthquake was accompanied by several tidal waves.

30.XII; 22h34m; 52o N., 160o W.;

31.XII; 9h2.5m; 52o N., 177o W.; M=7.8

[The instrumental data do not agree with the macroseismic data].

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1901 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1901 Recent earthquakes near here This 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 2603.