Historic Earthquakes

Sitka
1972 Jul 30 21:45:14.1 UTC
Magnitude 7.6

At Sitka, a few chimneys fell and some minor landslides were reported. Slight damage also was sustained at Hoonah, Juneau, Pelican, and Yakutat. The Fairweather fault ruptured over a length of 75 kilometers. Seiches were observed in swimming pools as far south as Seattle, Washington. At least 19 aftershocks were felt at Sitka through August 29. A tsunami of 10 centimeters was recorded at Juneau and 8 centimeters at Sitka. The main shock was felt over a large area of southeast Alaska and British Columbia, Canada.

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.