QuakeScout
Magnitude2.6

Reviewed by USGSAlaska14y ago

M2.6 earthquake 83 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska

Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 02:00:59 UTC · 52.284°N, 169.448°W

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 83 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 02:00:59 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.6
Minor · ml
Depth
30 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

68 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

30 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.2 on September 12, 2012. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M2.6
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.8113 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska14y ago · 34 km S of this epicenter
  2. 3.2111 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska14y ago · 38 km S of this epicenter
  3. 2.563 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska14y ago · 26 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 621 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 7, 1929 · 155 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 145 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 153 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.3Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 24, 2011 · 165 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 48 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1901M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    31 Dec 1901 · 142 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1965M6.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    2 Jul 1965 · 153 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1917M7.9

    Alaska Peninsula

    31 May 1917 · 279 km away · intensity V

  4. 1902M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    1 Jan 1902 · 133 km away

  5. 1907M7.8

    Aleutian Islands

    2 Sep 1907 · 39 km away

  6. 1929M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    7 Mar 1929 · 148 km away · intensity V

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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