Reviewed by USGS4y ago
M3.4 earthquake south of Alaska
Tuesday, December 14, 2021, 04:37:17 UTC · 54.621°N, 156.863°W
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck south of Alaska on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, 04:37:17 UTC, at a depth of 21.3 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 21 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
26 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
21 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.0 on January 7, 2022. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 300 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 105 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.22021 Chignik, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 29, 2021 · 105 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 122 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 178 km W of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 198 km W of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0113 km ESE of Chignik, AlaskaMay 4, 1923 · 136 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SE of Chignik, AlaskaSeptember 4, 1989 · 83 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 122 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 135 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 2021M8.2
Alaska Peninsula
29 Jul 2021 · 100 km away · intensity VIII
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 268 km away
tsunami
- 2020M7.6
Alaska
19 Oct 2020 · 178 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1948M7.5
Alaska Peninsula
14 May 1948 · 267 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.