QuakeScout
Magnitude2.6

Reviewed by USGSAlaska14y ago

M2.6 earthquake 189 km WSW of Nikolski, Alaska

Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 04:57:11 UTC · 52.234°N, 171.414°W

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 189 km WSW of Nikolski, Alaska on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 04:57:11 UTC, at a depth of 25.9 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.6
Minor · ml
Depth
26 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

120 kg of TNT

That is about 1/125,702 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3,981 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

108 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

26 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on June 29, 2012. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M2.6
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.5189 km E of Atka, Alaska14y ago · 7 km S of this epicenter
  2. 3.3184 km ESE of Atka, Alaska14y ago · 38 km S of this epicenter
  3. 2.6185 km E of Atka, Alaska14y ago · 22 km S of this epicenter
  4. 3.3163 km E of Atka, Alaska14y ago · 30 km W of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 767 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.01986 Atka, Alaska EarthquakeMay 7, 1986 · 244 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 7, 1929 · 186 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 268 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 143 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.3Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 24, 2011 · 35 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.158 km WNW of Atka, AlaskaFebruary 28, 1970 · 239 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 159 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1957M8.6

    Alaska

    9 Mar 1957 · 300 km away

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1986M8.0

    Aleutian Islands: Adak

    7 May 1986 · 244 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1901M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    31 Dec 1901 · 91 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1965M6.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    2 Jul 1965 · 275 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1902M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    1 Jan 1902 · 267 km away

  6. 1907M7.8

    Aleutian Islands

    2 Sep 1907 · 121 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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