Reviewed by USGSAlaska47y ago
M4.5 earthquake 95 km NNE of Nikolski, Alaska
Wednesday, March 26, 1980, 00:12:00 UTC · 53.663°N, 168.082°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 95 km NNE of Nikolski, Alaska on Wednesday, March 26, 1980, 00:12:00 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on March 25, 1980.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
174 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
33 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 255 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 78 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 173 km W of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 153 km E of this epicenter
- 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 131 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.980 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 9, 1957 · 176 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.977 km SSW of Nikolski, AlaskaJanuary 23, 1935 · 173 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 79 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M7.9
Alaska Peninsula
31 May 1917 · 142 km away · intensity V
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 146 km away
- 1907M7.8
Aleutian Islands
2 Sep 1907 · 162 km away
- 1916M7.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
18 Apr 1916 · 133 km away
- 1957M7.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
22 Mar 1957 · 239 km away · intensity V
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.