October 6, 1995 Earthquake: Fairbanks North Star County, Alaska, United States
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Fairbanks North Star County, Alaska, United States on October 6, 1995 at 05:23:18 UTC, 9 km below the surface.
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 6, 1995
- Time
- 05:23:18 UTC
- Place
- Fairbanks North Star County, Alaska, United States
- Magnitude
- 6 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 6 · Ms 5.8 · mb 5.7
- Focal depth
- 9 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 65.170° N, 148.565° W
- Country
- United States
- Region
- North America and Hawaii
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
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 happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Minor damage (VI) at Fairbanks. Felt (V) at Anderson, Delta Junction, Eielson Air Force Base, Ester, Nenana, North Pole, Rampart, Salcha and Wiseman; (IV) at Bettles, Cantwell, Dot Lake, Eagle, Fort Yukon, Lake Minchumina, Manley Hot Springs, Minto, Ruby, Tanana and Tok; (III) at Circle, Coldfoot, Hughes, McGrath, Paxson, Talkeetna, Valdez and Wasilla; (II) at Palmer. Felt throughout central Alaska as far south as Anchorage. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=93 Dip=87 Slip=174 NP2:Strike=183 Dip=84 Slip=3 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=6 Azm=48 (P) Plg=2 Azm=138 Comment: The focal mechanism is well controlled and corresponds to strike-slip faulting with a small reverse component. The preferred fault plane is not determined. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 9 Focal mech. F Energy 8.0+2.2*10**13 Nm MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 21 No. of sta: 15 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=-0.30 Mtt=-0.28 Mff=0.58 Mrt=0.30 Mrf=0.29 Mtf=-1.04 Principal axes: (T) Val=1.28 Plg=3 Azm=237 (N) Val=-0.11 Plg=64 Azm=333 (P) Val=-1.17 Plg=25 Azm=145 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.2*10**18 NP1:Strike=284 Dip=70 Slip=-164 NP2:Strike=188 Dip=75 Slip=-21 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GSN L.P.B.: 39S, 83C M.W.: 39S, 59C Centroid Location: Origin Time 05:23:24.2 0.2 Lat 65.28N 0.02 Lon 148.50W 0.04 Dep 15.0 BDY Half-duration 2.3 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=-1.33 0.12 Mtt=-5.86 0.14 Mff=7.18 0.13 Mrt=2.22 0.41 Mrf=-1.04 0.48 Mtf=-8.23 0.13 Principal Axes: (T) Val=11.45 Plg=9 Azm=64 (N) Val=-1.33 Plg=77 Azm=294 (P) Val=-10.11 Plg=10 Azm=155 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.1*10**18 NP1:Strike=199 Dip=77 Slip=-1 NP2:Strike=289 Dip=89 Slip=-167
From the USGS event page for ak995cti1ypa. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | Mw, moment | Alaska Earthquake Center | Preferred · Preliminary |
| 5.8 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Reviewed · 64 stations |
| 5.96 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 6.34 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Minor damage at Fairbanks. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1995The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1995Recent 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 5421. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event ak995cti1ypa, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.