Reviewed by USGSAlaska2y ago
M3.2 earthquake 97 km SE of King Cove, Alaska
Thursday, November 16, 2023, 09:37:14 UTC · 54.387°N, 161.345°W
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck 97 km SE of King Cove, Alaska on Thursday, November 16, 2023, 09:37:14 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.2
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 10 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
951 kg of TNT
That is about 1/15,825 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 501 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
89 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
10 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 11 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on December 10, 2023. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.7109 km S of Sand Point, Alaska2y ago · 40 km E of this epicenter
- 3.182 km SE of King Cove, Alaska2y ago · 17 km N of this epicenter
- 4.379 km ESE of King Cove, Alaska2y ago · 41 km N of this epicenter
- 2.8115 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska2y ago · 30 km E of this epicenter
- 3.197 km SE of King Cove, Alaska2y ago · 6 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.289 km SE of King Cove, Alaska2y ago · 9 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.985 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska2y ago · 33 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.290 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska2y ago · 35 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 407 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.6The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska EarthquakeApril 1, 1946 · 139 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 221 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.22021 Chignik, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 29, 2021 · 246 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 192 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 114 km E of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 116 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 38 km E of this epicenter
- 7.190 km SE of King Cove, AlaskaMay 14, 1948 · 26 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 169 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1946M8.6
Unimak Island
1 Apr 1946 · 139 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 39 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 192 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 226 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 2021M8.2
Alaska Peninsula
29 Jul 2021 · 247 km away · intensity VIII
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 72 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.