Beth Grassi’s passion for words began as soon as she could write sentences. How she landed in a role communicating natural hazards at the Alaska Earthquake Center is a much longer story.

As a field intern fresh out of climbing training, the possibility of getting to use my new knowledge on a real site with a real tower was super exciting.

With a current network of over 250 seismic stations, the Alaska Earthquake Center maintains an impressive seismic grid across the state. But how did it all begin?

How does the Alaska Earthquake Center gather data from more than 250 seismic stations scattered across the state, some in remote locations? Any way we can! We use a complex set of radios, cell modems, routers, and satellite receiver instruments.

Tiny Gulf of Alaska ocean wave vibrations unnoticeable by humans reach as far north as the state’s Arctic coastline.

From deep snowfields to mosquito-thick tundras, Alaska Earthquake Center field crew technicians crisscross the state to maintain and upgrade our seismic monitoring network of over 250 stations.

Over the course of several visits to the Alaska Geophysical Network site at Porcupine Dome last summer, Earthquake Center field engineer Ca

On the evening of March 31, 2025, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook the Alaska Peninsula and surrounding area.

In the world of earthquake monitoring, where every second counts and every detail matters, Samantha Wiser, our Program Coordinator, ensures the Alaska Earthquake Cent

The past few weeks have seen a notable rise in attention to the possibility that Mount Spurr Volcano is nearing eruption, in part because of escalating seismicity.

As of today, March 21, 2025, there have been eight earthquakes greater than magnitude 5 in two days in the Andreanof Islands region of the western Aleutian chain (Figure 1).

Alaska had a relatively quiet 2024 as far as numbers of seismic events, but several earthquake swarms kept things interesting. Even a “quiet” year, however, keeps the Earthquake Center busy:

Residents in and around Takotna, Alaska were surprised on the evening of January 29, 2025 by significant shaking from a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.

Every year, the Alaska Earthquake Center issues new maps and reports that detail the history and hazards of tsunamis in a handful of coastal communi

Mid-day on Sunday, December 8, 2024, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake was recorded southwest of Atka Island in the western Aleutians (Figure 1). The earthquake triggered interest because of its significant size.

Tsunamis can arrive within minutes in Alaska’s coastal communities. Do you know where to go?

Monitoring climate seems distantly related to the work of the Alaska Earthquake Center, but it can actually improve our seismological studies.

Upper Cook Inlet’s history of earthquakes and tsunamis is written in mud and dead trees.

In early October, we detected a notable increase in earthquake activity about 50 miles south of Kaktovik in the northeastern corner of Alaska (Figure 1).

Google announced today that its Android phones will soon receive earthquake alerts in the U.S., including Alaska.

We’ve had a surge in inquiries in the past several days, related to Japan’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake on August 8.

Keeping the Alaska Earthquake Center’s seismic network of more than 250 stations powered through all sorts of conditions is one of the field team’s crucial tasks year-round.

Beginning in April 2024, the Alaska Earthquake Center started hearing reports from residents around Fairbanks who were feeling shaking that wasn’t quite what they were used to from earthquakes.

Late on May 1, 2024, a flurry of earthquakes rattled offshore of Herbert Island. In the span of 12 minutes, four earthquakes over magnitude 5 ruptured in the Fox Islands region of the Aleutian Islands (Figure 1).

The Alaska Earthquake Center will be going in large numbers to this year's Seismological Society of America Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

Early in 2024, U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native woman elected to Congress, toured the new Makerspace classroom at North Pole High.

Ensuring the Alaska Earthquake Center produces high-quality data, examining volcanic ash, and classifying volcanic earthquakes, all stem from a childhood fascination for Heather McFarlin, the Earthquake Center’s seismic data manager.

On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. local time, an earthquake of magnitude 9.2 initiated in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska. The Great Alaska Earthquake remains the second-largest ever recorded in the world.

When Alaska has less than 50,000 earthquakes in a given year, we consider it quiet. 2023 was a quiet year for Alaska, with the Alaska Earthquake Center reporting 45,546 seismic events in Alaska and neighboring regions (Figure 1).

A cascade of rock — 180 million tons of it — poured into Alaska’s Taan Fjord near the head of a retreating glacier on a mid-October’s night in 2015 (Figure 1).

“Let’s make some NOOOOOOISE!” the announcer called to the crowd.

The Alaska Earthquake Center was in the midst of giving a tour to a group of international Arctic Weather Workshop attendees when suddenly, the ground started to shake.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook southeastern Alaska at 10:46 p.m. local time on Thursday, January 11, 2024 (January 12, 7:46 UTC).

Because earthquakes tend to grab the most attention, the majority of the seismic record—the noise, or “background” to earthquakes—is commonly ignored.

Two moderate-sized earthquakes—magnitudes 5.1 and 5.3—occurred near Glacier Bay in Southeast

Earthquakes happen in Alaska. A lot. How would an earthquake early warning system work here?

Gabe Paris is part of the Earthquake Center’s Systems Team that helps keep data flowing from our field stations and shapes it into products for researchers and others interested in Alaska’s seismic activity.

When you live in a seismically active place like Alaska, a devastating earthquake like the recent one in Morocco (see Figure 1) may rightly make you ask, “Could something like that happen here?” The answer is—Yes. And no.

Scientists assessing tsunami threats throughout Alaska recently modeled the flooding scenario of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and discovered that a tsunami could reach upper Cook Inlet, countering a long-held public belief that the region has

For Elena Suleimani, studying all kinds of waves for her Bachelor’s degree in radiophysics and electronics at Gorky State University, Russia, led to making waves as a career—studying tsunami hazards in Alaska.

One month after his team received an award for creating the best seismic alarm system at the 2023 Shake Challenge Symposium in Fairbanks, Alaska, 15-year-old Merlin Matcian from Chevak, Alaska found himself installing a seismograph in “La Placita”

On July 15, 2023, at 10:48 pm Alaska time, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the offshore Alaska Peninsula region, almost three years after the

This morning’s M4.6 earthquake under Eagle River (Figures 1 & 2) at 6:47 am on July 3, 2023 woke up many people in Eagle River, Anchorage, and throughout the Mat-Su V

St. Lawrence Island lies in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait, and is one of the most remote places in North America. The island is only 45 miles (72 km) from Russia—you can clearly see the Russian coastline from the village shore.

Though I was awake in bed at 6:32am on Sunday morning (June 11, 2023) and did not feel it, folks across a swath of the Interior felt a M5 earthquake that occurred ab

Someone recently asked, “Why doesn’t the Alaska Earthquake Center report how long an earthquake lasts?” We could ask in reply, “Do you mean the earthquake itself or the shaking you feel under your feet?” Let’s dive into the process of an earthquak

“Attention Chevak, this is an Earthquake Alert: Please take cover!”

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Alaska had a relatively quiet 2022 as far as earthquakes go. Overall, the Alaska Earthquake Center reported 47,045 seismic events in Alaska and neighboring regions in 2022 (Figure 1).

Have you ever wondered how seismic analysts locate earthquakes? Or maybe why earthquake solutions change over time? With the Alaska seismic monitoring network, we record an average of 100+ events daily.

Historically, the Alaska Earthquake Center has focused on seismic data. We currently maintain more than 250 stations across Alaska with broadband and/or strong motion seismometers.

"Could the seismograph detect how strong the waves crash against our island?" asked a  student at Shishmaref School.

Natalia Ruppert came to Alaska planning to stay for a semester. More than two decades later, she’s built a career at the Alaska Earthquake Center.

Just a little heads up…

The Alaska Earthquake Center website and data processing will be shut down during University of Alaska Fairbanks planned maintenance on:

The M5.4 earthquake on Sunday morning March 19th was widely felt in Kenai Peninsula communities and as far as the MatSu valley (Fig. 1). With a depth of 40.6 miles, it is likely that this earthquake occurred in the Pacific Plate.

On November 3, 2002, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake shook Interior Alaska for two to three minutes, the largest inland earthquake in North America in 150 years.

The M4.8 earthquake that was felt widely on Sunday evening (September 18, 2022) occurred along a well-known fault system about 40 miles west of Fairbanks (Fig. 1).

Mitch Robinson is retiring after 33 years at the Geophysical Institute. Throughout those decades he has been a quiet, steadfast part of the UAF and GI community.

Seismicity for 2021 has been analyzed, quality controlled, and cataloged (figure 1). Despite the largest U.S.

Noise is all around us, all the time. Vibrations in the earth are much the same. Natural and anthropogenic (or man-made) vibrations are a constant source of noise that is recorded on seismic sensors around the world.

(September 14, 2021) Tonight’s M4.9 earthquake at 9:56pm rattled the Interior, with felt reports from Fairbanks, North Pole, Salcha, Nenana, Healy, Cantwell, Delta

From Mars research to earthquakes in Alaska, postdoctoral researcher Ezgi Karasözen has covered a lot of ground.

At 10:15pm Alaska time on July 28, 2021 a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck offshore of the Alaska Peninsula, the largest U.S. earthquake in 50 years.

Many people in Interior Alaska felt the M4.7 earthquake near Salcha tonight, July 22, 2021, at 8:20 pm AKDT (Figure 1).

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake late in the evening on Sunday May 30 occurred about 100 km, or 60 miles, east of Talkeetna and was felt across much of mainland Alaska.

At 9:10am on April 8, Alaskans from the Kenai Peninsula to Fairbanks had a little shakeup to start their day when a magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit.

The largest and third largest earthquakes worldwide in 2020 were both in Alaska: the M7.8 Simeonof Earthquake and its M7.6 aftershock.

When people report to the Earthquake Center that they have felt an earthquake on social media, we encourage them to submit a Did You Feel It?

(November 11, 2020) A new collaborative project will make it possible for scientists to use real-time seismic, weather, and infrasound (sounds below levels that humans can hear) observations to track a suite of phenomena ranging from eart

During 2019-2020, the Alaska Earthquake Center underwent an unprecedented expansion of our permanent seismic monitoring network. We were able to achieve it by acquiring 96 of 158 temporary USArray sites in Alaska.

On October 19, 2020 a magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the ground in the vicinity of the July 22, 2020 M7.8 Simeonof earthquake aftershock region (Figure 1).

On July 22, 2020, a major M7.8 earthquake struck the Shumagin Islands region of the Aleutians, just south of Simeonof Island.

Running a statewide seismic network requires expertise you might not immediately associate with earthquake research.

Large earthquakes, like the recent M7.8 in Alaska, can be seen at seismometers around the world! When an earthquake occurs, seismic energy travels in all directions, much like ripples in a pond.

This evening’s M7.8 earthquake [7/21/20, 10:12 PM AKDT] occurred on the well-known subduction zone interface off the Alaska Peninsula. Strong shaking has been reported from Perryville and Sand Point to King Cove and Cold Bay.

Seismic activity near Mt. Ogden and Wright Glacier, about 40 miles east of Juneau, picked up starting on July 10, 2020 (Figure 1). Juneau residents may have felt some of these quakes. 

We use the phrase “magnitude of completeness” often when referring to our understanding of seismicity in a region or following a sequence of earthquakes. This value is a simplistic assessment of a catalog of earthquakes.

“As far as earthquakes go, for everyone in Alaska, there is someone looking out for you 24/7,” said Ken Macpherson, who manages the Alaska Earthquake Center’s data analyst team.

We are getting questions about current earthquake activity in the western Aleutians—and with good reason. There are actually two different sequences of earthquakes unfolding right now in the Andreanof and Rat Islands.

Seismicity in Alaska had another stand-out year in 2019. With a total of 50,289 reported earthquakes, 2019 finished as a runner up to the record-breaking 2018 (figure 1). The earthquake depths ranged between 0 and 165 miles (265 km).

On Tuesday morning a magnitude 3.7 earthquake occurred about 16 miles SW of Ester, rattling folks across the Fairbanks region.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the M7.1 Anchorage Earthquake on November 30, 2018, we reflect on the scientific and societal impacts of the earthquake.

Natasha Kozyreva (or Natasha K. as her colleagues call her) came to Fairbanks in 2005.

You may be surprised at the diversity of sensors that are able to detect seismic waves.

After an earthquake, you’ll often hear a seismologist say something like “A moderate earthquake has occurred in the southcentral region of Alaska.” But what does that mean?

Alaska's 55,000 earthquakes in 2018 smashed the state's

Registration is open for this retrospective on the M7.1 earthquake last November. This is a diverse gathering of professionals who are vested and interested in helping shape the lessons learned from this event.

Our staff spend much of their time each summer working in the field on the stations that make up our seismic network, but the work of maintaining these stations is not limited to the summer or even to the field.

If you've paid much attention to earthquakes in Alaska over the last few years, you've probably heard the phrase “earthquake swarm.” In 2014, a swarm near Noatak rattled residents with five magnitude 5.3-5.7 earthquakes spread out over two mo

On July 28, 2021 tsunami warning sirens sounded in coastal towns along southern Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula.

If you've ever read one of our old information releases, you might have noticed the phrase "The magnitude and location may change slightly as additional data are received and processed." The words probably make sense, but the reasons are a bit sub

The burning question on the minds of many residents in Southcentral Alaska is, “When will the aftershocks stop?” This is a tricky question, but enough time has passed since the November 30 magnitude 7.1 earthquake for us to make an informed estima

We recorded more than 55,000 earthquakes in Alaska last year. We would give you an exact figure, but we're still counting.

Since the Nov. 30 Anchorage earthquake, we’ve fielded far more questions about the aftershock sequence than we have about the magnitude 7.1 mainshock that started them.

Here is a cross-section through Friday’s earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. The mainshock symbol marks where the M7.1 earthquake began.

Updated December 2, 2018

If you were one of the thousands of people visiting our website this morning or using one of the numerous services that repost our data (various phone apps, USGS, etc.) you may have seen listings for two magnitude 5 earthquakes at the same time ne

Knowing where to go during an evacuation is crucial to survival when you are in a tsunami hazard zone. But how do emergency managers and planners decide where the safe zones are and where to stage assembly areas in a community?

For two weeks in July I was onboard the Research Vessel Sikuliaq as an apply-to-sail participant of the

When we feel an earthquake, we can't know right away where it happened. A person occupies one spot, and earthquakes can happen all around us, at different depths.

On Sunday morning at 6:58 Alaska time, we recorded a magnitude 6.4 earthquake 52 miles southwest of Kaktovik. It was, by a wide margin, the largest earthquake ever recorded north of the Brooks Range in Alaska.

In early 2016, UAF Assistant Professor Dr.

Not only do our remote seismic stations need to survive temperatures far below zero, heavy snows, ice, winds, rains, lightning strikes, and warm, muddy summer months, our stations must also withstand abuse from all variety

Lituya Bay

A flying boat dropped Paddy Sherman’s mountaineering expedition at Lituya Bay on June 17, 1958.

Halfway through 2018, January's magnitude 7.9 earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska remains the year's largest quake worldwide.

For decades, there have been tantalizing clues about how we might know when an earthquake will happen. Sometimes, clusters of small earthquakes called foreshock sequences come in the days or weeks before a large earthquake.

Alaska's most recent deadly tsunami struck without warning on November 3, 1994. Witnesses described new steel sheet piles snapping in half as the railway dock, which was being refurbished, suddenly slid away from the shore.

With only a handful of known active faults across northeast Alaska, you might not expect much in the way of earthquake activity. You’d be mistaken.

Two of our field crew, blessed with adequate weather, made the 180-mile flight from Kodiak to Chirikof Island last week. Once there, they replaced two aging seismometers, measured battery voltages and radio signal strength, and then

We spend a lot of time at the Earthquake Center anticipating what will happen during large earthquakes. For earthquakes occurring off the coast, tsunamis are one of our greatest hazards.

When a large earthquake occurs, geophysicists have many tools at their disposal to determine the properties of the fault (or faults) that ruptured during the earthquake.

You may have noticed that we've launched an updated version of our recent events page. 

The goals of the revamp were twofold:

Every year at this time, I take a few moments to reflect on the March 27, 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis.

At 12:31am on January 23, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck in the Gulf of Alaska about 180 miles southeast of Kodiak Island (see figure 1).

Alaska was rocked by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake just after midnight on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.

(Sept. 8, 2017) When the North Koreans set off their latest nuclear test last Sunday, we were the first to record the explosion signal as it reached U.S. soil.

(August 3, 2017) Recently, many national news outlets picked up a story about the earthquake and tsunami threat posed by Alaska’s Shumagin Gap.

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake on July 17, 2017 in the Komandorskie Islands is the largest of its kind recorded in the region.

(May 8, 2017) After a long spell with few earthquakes strong enough to be felt, over the last ten days we've had 3 earthquakes larger than magnitude 6, seven larger than M5, and more than fifty larger than M4. 

Earthquakes beneath and around Denali are very common and in fact encapsulate three stories of Alaska seismicity in one location. Last night’s (Tuesday 31 January 2017) magnitude 5.2 earthquake is just one part of the Denali regional story.

UAF's Carl Tape will be speaking on Tuesday night in Fairbanks about his research into an elusive 1904 magnitude 7.3 earthquake that happened, we now believe, somewhere near Lake Minchumina. This is a detective story.

In response to user feedback, we have added a simplified list of recent earthquakes to our website. 

We have completed processing of earthquakes for 2016. Here are some numbers:

Hundreds of seismic stations send data continuously to our lab from places scattered across Alaska.

Please check out Mike's Alaska Dispatch piece, "Quake in Italy should remind Alaskans of our own peril."

Many of you have noticed the significant swarm of small quakes occurring about 8 miles west of Mt. Spurr. Since June 11, there have been hundreds of earthquake-like events with magnitudes up to 2.4.

Pavlof volcano began a new eruption on March 27 with little advance warning.

At 1:41 Monday morning, many in the Anchorage and Kenai regions woke to the shaking of a magnitude 4.2 earthquake centered 13 miles west of Hope.

Most people can visualize how earthquakes are generated at plate boundaries, where one plate grinds against or collides with another.

Carl Tape's simulation of the M7.1 Iniskin Earthquake is generating a lot of interest, in part because it appears to reflect many people's experience of the e

Four hundred miles from the epicenter, at 1:30 in the morning, many in Fairbanks did not feel the earthquake at all. For those who did, it lasted for a long time and came as two distinct, widely separated shocks.

A damaging magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred at 1:30am Sunday, 60 miles west of Homer. So far there are no reports of injuries.

The recent nuclear test in North Korea presents a quandary for seismologists. The political posturing and global tension these events create is significant. And yet scientifically, they are fascinating.

As we head into winter, seismic events generated by glaciers—so-called icequakes—have quieted down for the season. Each year, hundreds of these icequakes are large enough to be caught by our standard earthquake detection routines.

Fall might not be the most prudent time for a surveying trip to the Aleutians, but Zeb Maharrey and I lucked out with some beautiful days and only a few periods of cold, blowing rain.

We are thrilled to introduce a completely redesigned website for the Alaska Earthquake Center.