March 6, 1988 Earthquake: Anchorage, Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States

Name: March 6, 1988 Earthquake: Anchorage, Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States
Start: 1988-03-06
Location: Anchorage, Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States

March 6, 1988 · M7.8

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Anchorage, Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States on March 6, 1988 at 22:35:36 UTC, 15 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: March 6, 1988
Time: 22:35:36 UTC
Place: Anchorage, Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States
Magnitude: 7.8 (Mw)
Focal depth: 15 km (9 mi)
Intensity: 5 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 57.262° N, 142.747° 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.

1988, March 6 22:35:38.1 UTC. 56.953 N, 143.032 W, depth 10 km, magnitude 6.8 mb, 7.6 MS, 7.4 Ml. Gulf or Alaska. Felt (V) at Anchorage, Cordova, Glennallen, Gustavus, Homer, Juneau, Metlokatla, Pelican, Port Graham, Sitka and Valdez. Also felt (V) in some sections of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. Felt (IV) at Kodiak, (III) at Craig and Ketchikan and (II) at King Salmon. Estimated 5,000 dollars damage caused to the ships "Exxon North Slope," "Exxon Boston" and "Exxon New Orleans" located at 57o 38' North, 142o 45' West. Tsunami generated with wave heights (peak to trough) 38 cm at Yokutol, 12 cm at Sitka and 8 cm at Kodiak. (reference #1053)

1988, March 6 22:35:38.1 UTC. 56.953 N, 143.032 W, depth 10 km, magnitude 6.8 mb, 7.6 MS. (reference #542)

1988, March 6 22:35:36.86 UTC. 57.262 N, 142.747 W, depth 15 km, magnitude 7.8 Mw HRV. (reference #9910)

1988, March 6 22:35:38.50 UTC. 57.285 N, 142.767 W, depth 15 km, magnitude 7.73 Mw. (reference #10476)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1988 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1988 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 5159.