Seismicity in this region is characterized by a diffuse zone of activity extending from the northeast Brooks Range across the coastal plane and onto the Beaufort Shelf. In 2006, five magnitude 4+ earthquakes occurred in this general area.

Focal mechanisms obtained from waveform modelling for the 2006 and 2007 events are consistent with left-lateral strike-slip motion along this NE-trending zone of seismicity, i.e. the northeast Brooks Range is moving northward relative to the lowland to the west.