Historic Earthquakes

Cape Yakataga, Alaska
1899 09 04 00:22 UTC (local 09/03)
Magnitude 7.9

During September, the Yakutat Bay region was shaken by a series of severe earthquakes. The first earthquake at 00:22 UTC was moderately strong at Yakutat but was extremely violent at Cape Yakataga, about 160 kilometers west. The shock broke off the tops of trees, generated landslides, and raised the ocean beach about 1 meter. Although no loss of life or property occurred in the region, reported effects include uplift of the coast, landslides, difficulty in standing upright, water waves on the bay, and shaking of houses. Faulting probably occurred at Cape Yakataga. The shock was felt at about 30 know locations, the most distant on the lower Yukon River, about 1,100 kilometers from Yakutat Bay. Strong aftershocks were observed on September 4.

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.