Reviewed by USGSAlaska98y ago
M5.7 earthquake 20 km SE of Attu Station, Alaska
Tuesday, December 17, 1929, 17:43:38 UTC · 52.717°N, 173.396°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 20 km SE of Attu Station, Alaska on Tuesday, December 17, 1929, 17:43:38 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on December 17, 1929.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Moderate · 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 10 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
115 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.993 km NW of Attu Station, AlaskaDecember 17, 1929 · 113 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4151 km S of Attu Station, AlaskaSeptember 2, 1907 · 141 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0167 km WSW of Attu Station, AlaskaApril 10, 1909 · 176 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8129 km SSE of Attu Station, AlaskaNovember 13, 1911 · 112 km S of this epicenter
- 6.78 km SE of Attu Station, AlaskaOctober 18, 1912 · 11 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.6216 km WNW of Attu Station, AlaskaJanuary 6, 1906 · 234 km W of this epicenter
- 6.566 km S of Attu Station, AlaskaJuly 22, 1923 · 55 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:
- 1909M7.8
Aleutian Islands
10 Apr 1909 · 135 km away
- 1929M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Near Islands
17 Dec 1929 · 130 km away
- 1898M7.6
Aleutian Islands: Near Islands
29 Jun 1898 · 124 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.