Strong mag. 6.9 earthquake - Gulf of Alaska, 59 mi southwest of South Island, Kodiak Island County, Alaska, USA, on Thursday, 17 November 1938 at 03:54 (GMT)

Strong mag. 6.9 earthquake - Gulf of Alaska, 59 mi southwest of South Island, Kodiak Island County, Alaska, USA, on Thursday, 17 November 1938 at 03:54 (GMT)

Strong magnitude 6.9 earthquake at 35 km depth

Date & time: 17 Nov 1938 03:54:41 UTC
Magnitude: 6.9
Depth: 35.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 55.36°N / 157.761°W (Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, United States)
Nearest volcano: Veniaminof (136 km / 85 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
106 km (66 mi) SE of Perryville (pop: 113) --> See nearby quakes!
111 km (69 mi) SSE of Chignik (pop: 87) --> See nearby quakes!
118 km (73 mi) SSE of Chignik Lake (pop: 73) --> See nearby quakes!
173 km (108 mi) E of Sand Point (pop: 1,060) --> See nearby quakes!
184 km (114 mi) SSE of Port Heiden (pop: 98) --> See nearby quakes!
228 km (141 mi) ESE of Nelson Lagoon (pop: 52) --> See nearby quakes!
291 km (181 mi) E of King Cove (pop: 1,010) --> See nearby quakes!
425 km (264 mi) SW of Kodiak (pop: 6,250) --> See nearby quakes!
6005 km (3732 mi) NW of Washington DC (District of Columbia) (pop: 601,700) --> See nearby quakes!
6005 km (3732 mi) NW of Washington DC (District of Columbia) (pop: 601,700) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 1.4 x 1015 joules (392 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 3.4 x 105 tons of TNT or 21.1 atomic bombs!) More info
Show interactive Map
[smaller] [bigger]
If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 6.935 kmAlaska Peninsula (USA)USGS
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.

User reports for this quake

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it be the first to report it!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 6.9 quake Gulf of Alaska, 59 mi southwest of South Island, Kodiak Island County, Alaska, USA, 17 November 1938 03:54 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quakes):
  • 23 Dec 1938 18:14 UTC
    | M 0.0 |
    0 km (0 mi) depth
    |
    63 km (39 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details

to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Strong mag. 6.9 earthquake - Gulf of Alaska, 59 mi southwest of South Island, Kodiak Island County, Alaska, USA, on Thursday, 17 November 1938 at 03:54 (GMT)

Map of earlier quakes

Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Why is there advertising on this site?

Support us - Help us upgrade our server!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
Our server is reaching its limits and we need financing to increase capacity in order to deal with huge activity peaks when quakes occur. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every penny counts and every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features and in upgrading our software, please make a donation (PayPal or Online cc payment).

Planned features:
  • Weather reports
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Design upgrades
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards
  • Additional seismic data sources
  • Improved content in English
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you! With best regards from the VolcanoDiscovery team.
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most texts and images, in particular photographs, on this website are protected by copyright. Further reproduction and use of without authorization is usually not consented. If you are not sure or need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.