Reviewed by USGSAlaska95y ago
M6.6 earthquake 72 km SE of Sand Point, Alaska
Sunday, October 16, 1932, 12:08:06 UTC · 54.929°N, 159.603°W
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 72 km SE of Sand Point, Alaska on Sunday, October 16, 1932, 12:08:06 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on May 4, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 251 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
118 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
25 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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.3 on October 30, 1932. 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 23 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 19 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0113 km ESE of Chignik, AlaskaMay 4, 1923 · 206 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.873 km SW of Sand Point, AlaskaJuly 2, 1922 · 104 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6291 km S of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 13, 1910 · 241 km S of this epicenter
- 6.547 km SE of False Pass, AlaskaFebruary 26, 1929 · 214 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5Bristol Bay, AlaskaAugust 22, 1907 · 246 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4101 km SSW of Sand Point, AlaskaJuly 25, 1917 · 107 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3298 km SSE of Sand Point, AlaskaJune 4, 1917 · 235 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 90 km away
tsunami
- 1868
Alaska Peninsula
15 May 1868 · 90 km away
tsunami
- 1880
Alaska Peninsula
29 Sep 1880 · 271 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.