QuakeScout
Magnitude6.0

Reviewed by USGSAlaska70y ago

M6.0 earthquake in Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Sunday, March 17, 1957, 07:53:59 UTC · 51.360°N, 179.414°W

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska on Sunday, March 17, 1957, 07:53:59 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on March 16, 1957.

Magnitude
6.0
Moderate · mw
Depth
35 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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

14 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 30 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

95 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

35 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 75 km

USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on April 9, 1957. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M61h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M6.0
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 5.8178 km WSW of Adak, Alaska70y ago · 24 km E of this epicenter
  2. 5.9Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska70y ago · 66 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 5.8125 km WSW of Adak, Alaska70y ago · 75 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 124 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.61957 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMarch 9, 1957 · 263 km E of this epicenter
  2. 8.31906 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 175 km W of this epicenter
  3. 7.65 km WNW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 14, 1905 · 196 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.388 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaJuly 7, 1929 · 116 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.2238 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaMarch 22, 1905 · 39 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.2162 km WSW of Adak, AlaskaMarch 16, 1957 · 38 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.175 km S of Adak, AlaskaMarch 14, 1957 · 187 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.160 km SW of Adak, AlaskaMarch 12, 1957 · 151 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1957M8.6

    Alaska

    9 Mar 1957 · 263 km away

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1906M8.3

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    17 Aug 1906 · 175 km away

  3. 1905M7.9

    Andreanof Islands

    14 Feb 1905 · 92 km away

  4. 1940M7.4

    Aleutian Islands: Rat Islands

    14 Jul 1940 · 179 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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