December 15, 1971 Earthquake: Off Kamchatka, Shemya, Attu, Russia
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Off Kamchatka, Shemya, Attu, Russia on December 15, 1971 at 08:29:55 UTC, 33 km below the surface. 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 15, 1971
- Time
- 08:29:55 UTC
- Place
- Off Kamchatka, Shemya, Attu, Russia
- Magnitude
- 7.8 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 56.000° N, 163.300° E
- Country
- Russia
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 13, 1923, Near Kamchatka, Russia
- April 15, 1791, Kamchatka, Russia
- December 28, 1984, Kamchatka, Russia
- September 21, 1937, Kamchatka, Russia
- June 26, 2019, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- January 30, 1917, Kamchatka, Russia
- November 4, 1737, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- November 13, 1936, Near Kamchatka, Russia
- February 24, 1923, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
- August 17, 1983, Near East Coast of Kamchatka, Russia
- December 20, 2018, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- December 5, 1997, Ust-Kamchatsk, Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka, Russia
- June 30, 1936, Komandorsky Island, Russia
- January 27, 1949, Kamchatka, Russia
- November 22, 1969, Off Kamchatka, Russia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1971The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1971Recent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4588.