Magnitude 4.4 - 49 miles SW of Kaktovik
December 16, 2019 03:17:43 AKST (December 16, 2019 12:17:43 UTC)
69.5574°N 144.8593°W Depth 6.6 miles (10 km)
No reports of this event being felt have been received at this time. This earthquake is an aftershock of the August 12, 2018 M6.4 Kaktovik earthquake.
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist
- 90 miles (145 km) E of Pump Station #2
- 95 miles (154 km) SE of Deadhorse
- 95 miles (154 km) SE of Prudhoe Bay
- 101 miles (163 km) N of Arctic Village
- 101 miles (163 km) SE of Pump Station #1
- 109 miles (176 km) NE of Pump Station #3
- 136 miles (220 km) NE of Pump Station #4
- 177 miles (286 km) E of Umiat
- 181 miles (293 km) N of Venetie
- 194 miles (314 km) NW of Old Crow
- 197 miles (319 km) NE of Anaktuvuk Pass
- Magnitude type: Ml2
- Event type: earthquake
Tectonic Setting of the Brooks Range
Seismicity in the Brooks Range is characterized by intraplate earthquakes associated with mountain building and crustal reorganization. A broad earthquake band extends from northeast of the Brooks Range toward the Beaufort Sea. Earthquake source mechanisms comprise a mixture of strike-slip and normal faulting events, indicative of north-northwest compression and northeast extension. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake on August 12, 2018 located 43 miles (69 km) south of Kaktovik was the largest earthquake ever recorded north of the Brooks Range. It produced an energetic aftershock sequence that continues to this day. In 2019, a vigorous swarm sequence began in the Purcell Mountains. More than 9,000 earthquakes have been recorded as part of this swarm through the end of 2021, including five earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 5. At present, this swarm continues, though at a decreased activity level.