1964 Earthquake
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1964 Earthquake
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The Great Alaska Earthquake that struck the Anchorage area on Good Friday, March 27, 1964 at 5:36 PM registered 8.6 on the Richter Scale, although scientists now favor a different magnitude scale for very large quakes that shows this quake as 9.2. This made it the largest quake that has hit the United States in recorded history and one of the largest known worldwide. Geologically, the effects were widespread and dramatic. Large areas were lifted up or dropped by several feet, landslides were extensive, ground failure led to large fissures in the ground, landslides into bays caused huge seiche waves locally and a tsunami caused damage thousands of miles away. Luckily, the casualties were considerably lighter than might be expected for a disaster of this magnitude. 115 deaths are attributed to the quake. This relatively low number can be attributed to the sparse population of the area and the fact that the quake occurred when most people were at home.
The Great Alaskan Earthquake was the result of the movement of huge plates of the earth's surface. This process of plate tectonics causes quakes when neighboring plates interact. In this case the Pacific Plate containing the Pacific Ocean is being pushed under the North American Plate. This kind of subduction causes the largest and deepest earthquakes known. As the Pacific Plate dives under the lighter continental crust it also pushes up portions of the ocean crust which rise as mountain ranges. Volcanos erupt as the descending ocean plate heats up in its descent towards the earth's mantle. The rock melts and magma rises to the surface in periodic eruptions.
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