Alaska Earthquake Science Facts:

26 amazing facts about earthquake science in Alaska.

Guaranteed to be something new and interesting, no matter your background.

For background materials, please check out these videos.

This collection of YouTube videos were developed for "Glaciers, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes" (GEOS 120), an online course at University of Alaska Fairbanks. (Contact me if you have questions about taking GEOS 120 remotely.)

Click here for the youtube playlist, or directly access the videos below.

Some themes are highlighted at the bottom of this page.

If you like this content, please check out the virtual museum exhibit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Full list of facts [7:18]

Full list of facts [7:18]

[F1] Time scales [11:32]

[F2] Largest earthquakes [9:44]

[F3] Cook Inlet [27:14]

[F4] Yakutat collision [23:51]

[F5] 1899 Yakutat [4:23]

[F6] 1958 Lituya Bay [16:38]

[F7] 1912 Katmai–Novarupta [3:39]

[F8] 1946 Unimak (and Hilo) [11:14]

[F9] 1958 Huslia [12:10]

[F10] 1964 megathrust [14:17]

[F11] 1964 static change [11:27]

[F12A] 1964 tsunamis Part A [19:52]

[F12B] 1964 tsunamis Part B [18:11]

[F12C] 1964 tsunamis Part C [37:28]

[F13] 1964 Turnagain Heights [15:40]

[F14] 1964 postseismic [11:28]

[F15] 1971 Amchitka ground motion [8:27]

[F16] 1971 Amchitka

science [10:19]

[F17] 2002 Denali

biggest [4:02]

[F18] 2002 Denali

rupture [15:23]

[F19] 2002 Denali

pipeline [33:41]

[F20] 2002 Denali

simulations [9:50]

[F21A] Ambient noise

Part A [41:21]

[F21B] Ambient noise

Part B [29:31]

[F22] Instrumentation

1964 COL [13:34]

[F23] Instrumentation

Amchitka OBS [5:50]

[F24] Instrumentation

Arrays [11:37]

[F25] Instrumentation

Burnt Mountain [3:52]

[F26] Instrumentation

EarthScope [7:39]

Below are some themes that appear in the videos, and I have queued up some example points for each theme.

Tsunami hazards

1946 Unimak: https://youtu.be/0nXSrUOfpZ8?t=196

1958 megatsunami: https://youtu.be/g1Wx2FSTyZY?t=559

1964 tectonic tsunami (Kodiak, Crescent City): https://youtu.be/ZIO5UzSTvHE?t=40

1964 local tsunamis (Valdez, Whittier, Chenega, Seward): https://youtu.be/TBFvQVnb9DE?t=673

Geological and tectonic time scales

tectonic settings: https://youtu.be/_CIYuLZjoRk?t=554

time scales: https://youtu.be/tA5JhBPaJK4?t=192

Cook Inlet: https://youtu.be/gjNHb6zAv6A?t=1017

Yakutat terranes: https://youtu.be/UU3Gp2JCeAE?t=235

subduction cross section: https://youtu.be/Ntrl5vLwMv8?t=54

Instrumentation (final 5 videos)

1964 COL: https://youtu.be/S7SZ4DUu2Jk

Amchitka OBS: https://youtu.be/t6c2tkvXx2Q

arrays: https://youtu.be/nCyOISc25EA

Burnt Mountain: https://youtu.be/i7Tup92toJ8

Earthscope: https://youtu.be/fwIo2B8HbXk

Nuclear monitoring

COL: https://youtu.be/S7SZ4DUu2Jk?t=279

1971 Amchitka ground motion: https://youtu.be/KbVduRewI2M

1971 Amchitka science: https://youtu.be/ThtlLL4SROU

1971 Amchitka ocean bottom seismometers: https://youtu.be/t6c2tkvXx2Q?t=152

instrumentation arrays: https://youtu.be/nCyOISc25EA

instrumentation Burnt Mountain: https://youtu.be/i7Tup92toJ8

Glaciers

Black Rapids glacier on Denali fault: https://youtu.be/Dujn3OUIMQs?t=196

Lituya glacier adjacent to 1958 Lituya Bay earthquake: https://youtu.be/g1Wx2FSTyZY?t=391

Fairweather fault under glaciers: https://youtu.be/g1Wx2FSTyZY?t=252

Lituya Bay fiord: https://youtu.be/g1Wx2FSTyZY?t=829

Volcanoes

1912 Katmai eruption: https://youtu.be/E6ijMWzgLNg?t=13

Aleutian arc (and the megathrust): https://youtu.be/Ntrl5vLwMv8?t=53

Volcano Spurr in Cook Inlet: https://youtu.be/gjNHb6zAv6A?t=47