Reviewed by USGSAlaska18y ago
M3.9 earthquake 109 km SE of Atka, Alaska
Sunday, June 29, 2008, 17:08:12 UTC · 51.475°N, 173.113°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 109 km SE of Atka, Alaska on Sunday, June 29, 2008, 17:08:12 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · mb
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
53 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 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 732 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.61957 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMarch 9, 1957 · 174 km W of this epicenter
- 8.01986 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMay 7, 1986 · 115 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 7, 1929 · 240 km E of this epicenter
- 7.65 km WNW of Adak, AlaskaFebruary 14, 1905 · 252 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.346 km SSW of Adak, AlaskaJune 10, 1996 · 259 km W of this epicenter
- 7.175 km S of Adak, AlaskaMarch 14, 1957 · 253 km W of this epicenter
- 7.160 km SW of Adak, AlaskaMarch 12, 1957 · 286 km W 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, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1957M8.6
Alaska
9 Mar 1957 · 174 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M8.0
Aleutian Islands: Adak
7 May 1986 · 115 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1901M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
31 Dec 1901 · 145 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1907M7.8
Aleutian Islands
2 Sep 1907 · 263 km away
- 1929M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
7 Mar 1929 · 223 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1916M7.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
18 Apr 1916 · 293 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.