Magnitude 7.9 - 16 miles NW of Amchitka

Tectonic Setting of the Aleutian Islands

The Aleutian Arc marks the region where the Pacific Plate subducts into the mantle beneath the North American Plate. It is a seismically active region, evidenced by the thousands of earthquakes occurring each year. Since 1900, this region has hosted several major megathrust earthquakes, including the 1957 M8.6 in the Andreanof Islands, the 1965 M8.7 in the Rat Islands, the 1986 M7.9 and the 1996 M7.9 in the Andreanof Islands, and the 2003 M7.8 in the Rat Islands. Together they have ruptured the entire length of the megathrust boundary in this region. Another notable source of seismicity in the arc is the zone 6-9 miles (10-15 km) wide of intermediate-depth earthquakes within the subducting Pacific Plate, known as the Wadati-Benioff Zone. The largest recorded intermediate-depth earthquake in this region was the 2014 M7.9 Little Sitkin event. A third source of seismicity in this region are shallow earthquakes associated with volcanic processes and crustal faults within the overriding North American Plate. They occur regularly and may produce vigorous aftershock or swarm-like sequences.