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Map showing the tectonics and seismicity of Alaska. The Aleutian Islands lie between Kamchatka and mainland Alaska. They were formed as the result of the 4,000 km (2,500 mi) long convergent boundary that accommodates the subduction of the oceanic Pacific plate underneath the continental North American plate. [8]
The Aleutian Trench (or Aleutian Trough) [1] is an oceanic trench along a convergent plate boundary which runs along the southern coastline of Alaska and the Aleutian islands. The trench extends for 3,400 kilometres (2,100 mi) from a triple junction in the west with the Ulakhan Fault and the northern end of the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench , to a ...
Along the megathrust, there were 5 earthquakes that were greater than magnitude 8 in the Aleutian subduction zone within the past 80+ years : M= 8.2 Shumagin Islands in 1938, M= 8.6 Andreanof Islands in 1957, M= 9.2 Good Friday in 1964, M= 8.7 Rat Islands in 1965, and M= 8.2 near Perryville in 2021.
Tectonic map of Alaska and northwestern Canada showing main faults and historic earthquakes Denali Fault and the Denali National Park boundary. The Denali Fault is a major intracontinental dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault in western North America, extending from northwestern British Columbia, Canada to the central region of the U.S. state of Alaska.
The Aleutian Trench, formed by the subduction of the Pacific plate under the North American plate, sits south of the island arc. [2] A forearc basin reaching depths of 7 km occupies the space between the trench and the island arc and leads up to the Aleutian Ridge, the north side of which being the area where the most volcanic activity occurs. [2]
The Rat Islands form part of the Aleutian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands forming an island arc, that results from the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate. This plate boundary, the Aleutian Trench , has been the location of many megathrust earthquakes .
Earthquakes are common on the West Coast, with multiple plate boundaries like the San Andreas fault making geologic activity more likely. They are rarer on the East Coast, but they do happen .
The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska on April 1, 1946. The shock measured (M w) 8.6, M t 9.3 or (M s) 7.4. It had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). [3] [4] It resulted in 165–173 casualties and over US$26 million (equivalent to $406,238,908 in 2023) in damage.