1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake

1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake
Anchorage
Date	9 March 1957 (1957-03-09)
Origin time	14:22:33 (UTC) ^[1]
Magnitude	8.6 M_w ^[1]
Depth	16 mi (25 km) ^[1]
Epicenter	51°30′N 175°38′W / 51.5°N 175.63°W / 51.5; -175.63Coordinates: 51°30′N 175°38′W / 51.5°N 175.63°W / 51.5; -175.63 ^[1]
Areas affected	Aleutian Islands & Hawaii
Total damage	$5 million ^[2]
Max. intensity	VIII (Severe) ^[2]
Casualties	None

The 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake took place on March 9 with a moment magnitude of 8.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It occurred south of the Andreanof Islands group, which is part of the Aleutian Islands arc. The event occurred along the Aleutian Trench, the convergent plate boundary that separates the Pacific Plate and the North American Plates near Alaska. A basin wide tsunami followed, with effects felt in Alaska and Hawaii. Total losses were around $5 million.

Tectonic setting

The 2,500 mi (4,000 km) Aleutian Subduction Zone is the convergent boundary of the Pacific and North American Plates. This oceanic trench runs from the Kuril Subduction Zone in the west to the Yakutat Collision Zone in the east. At each end of the subduction zone are right-lateral transform faults, including the Queen Charlotte Fault in the east, and a similar structure at the far west end of the arc near Attu Island.^[3]

Earthquake

Because the shock occurred before the World Wide Standardised Seismological Network was in operation, few instruments captured the event, and its mechanism is not understood well as a result. Some effort was made with the limited data to gain an understanding of the rupture area and the distribution of slip. One aspect of the event that was certain was that the 750 mi (1,200 km) aftershock zone was the largest that had ever been observed.^[4]

Damage

In Alaska, the earthquake caused severe damage to roads and buildings on Adak Island, but no lives were lost. Two bridges and some oil and fuel-related structures at the dock were also destroyed there. On Umnak Island, a concrete mixer and some docks were lost. Prompt warnings from the Seismic Sea Wave Warning System were credited with preventing greater damage or loss of life.^[5]

In Hawaii, damage was much more extensive, including two indirect fatalities that occurred when a pilot and photographer were killed while attempting to document the tsunami's arrival from an airplane. On the island of Kauai, the wave height reached 52 feet (16 m). By comparison, the effects were considered about twice as strong as that of the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake and resulting tsunami. About 50 homes were flooded on the north shore of Oahu and significant effects were seen in Waialua Bay. Buildings and bridges were also affected in Haleiwa.^[5]

References

1 2 3 4 ISC (2016), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 3.0, International Seismological Centre
1 2 Stover, C. W.; Coffman, J. L. (1993), Seismicity of the United States, 1568–1989 (Revised) – U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 29, 54, 55
↑ Yeats, R. (2012), Active Faults of the World, Cambridge University Press, p. 23, ISBN 978-0521190855
↑ Johnson, J. M.; Tanioka, Y.; Ruff, L. J.; Satake, K.; Kanamori, H.; Sykes, L. R. (1994), "The 1957 great Aleutian earthquake" (PDF), Pure and Applied Geophysics, Springer Science+Business Media, 142 (1): 3, 4, doi:10.1007/bf00875966
1 2 Lander, J. F.; Lockridge, P. A. (1989), United States Tsunamis, (including United States possessions) 1690-1988: Publication 41-2 (PDF), United States Department of Commerce, pp. 44–46, 97

External links

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program - Andreanof Islands, Alaska, Magnitude 8.6
Tsunami! - 1957 Aleutian tsunami
The March 9, 1957 Aleutian Tsunami – George Pararas-Carayannis

History of Alaska

	Timeline of Alaska	Prehistory Russian America (1733–1867) Department of Alaska (1867–1884) District of Alaska (1884–1912) Territory of Alaska (1912–1959) Recent history (1959–present)

	Topics and events	Russian-American Company Alaska Purchase Gold Rush era Klondike Nome Fairbanks Alaska boundary dispute 1925 serum run to Nome World War II Aleutian Islands Campaign Project Hula Alaska Statehood Act 1964 earthquake Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act Exxon Valdez oil spill History of Anchorage timeline History of Fairbanks Other topics

Earthquakes in the United States

Historical	1638 New Hampshire 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1755 Cape Ann 1811–12 New Madrid 1812 Wrightwood 1838 San Andreas 1857 Fort Tejon 1865 Memphis 1867 Manhattan, Kansas 1868 Hawaii 1868 Hayward 1872 Lone Pine 1872 North Cascades 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1892 Laguna Salada 1892 Vacaville–Winters

20th-century	1906 San Francisco 1906 Aleutian Islands 1909 Wabash River 1915 Pleasant Valley 1916 Irondale 1918 San Jacinto 1925 Santa Barbara 1931 Valentine 1932 Eureka 1933 Long Beach 1935 Helena 1940 El Centro 1940 New Hampshire 1944 Cornwall–Massena 1946 Aleutian Islands 1947 Wisconsin 1948 Desert Hot Springs 1949 Olympia 1952 Kern County 1957 Andreanof Islands 1957 San Francisco 1959 Hebgen Lake 1964 Alaska 1965 Rat Islands 1965 Puget Sound 1968 Illinois 1969 Santa Rosa 1971 San Fernando 1975 Near Islands 1975 Morris 1975 Hawaii 1979 Coyote Lake 1979 Imperial Valley 1980 Eureka 1983 Coalinga 1983 Borah Peak 1984 Morgan Hill 1986 North Palm Springs 1986 Chalfant Valley 1987 Whittier Narrows 1989 Loma Prieta 1990 Upland 1991 Sierra Madre 1992 Cape Mendocino 1992 Landers 1992 Big Bear 1993 Scotts Mills 1993 Klamath Falls 1994 Northridge 1995 Marathon 1996 Duvall 1998 Pymatuning 1999 Hector Mine 2000 Yountville

21st-century	2001 Nisqually 2002 Denali 2003 Alabama 2003 San Simeon 2006 Gulf of Mexico 2006 Hawaii 2007 Alum Rock 2008 Illinois 2008 Chino Hills 2010 Eureka 2010 Illinois 2010 Baja California 2010 Indiana 2011 Colorado 2011 Virginia 2011 Oklahoma 2014 Aleutian Islands 2014 Southeast Alaska 2014 South Napa 2016 Oklahoma

Swarms	2001 Enola 2008 Reno 2010–11 Guy-Greenbrier 2012 Brawley 2009–16 Oklahoma

Earthquakes in Alaska

1906 Aleutian Islands (8.35) 1946 Aleutian Islands (8.1) 1957 Andreanof Islands (8.6) 1958 Lituya Bay (7.8) 1964 Alaska (9.2) 1965 Rat Islands (8.7) 1975 Near Islands (7.6) 2002 Denali (7.9) 2014 Aleutian Islands (7.9) 2014 Palma Bay (6.0) 2016 Old Iliamna (7.1)

← Earthquakes in 1957 →

Andreanof Islands (8.6, March 9) San Francisco (5.7, March 22) Fethiye (6.2, April 24 - 7.1 April 25) Abant (7.1, May 26) †‡ Mongolia (8.1, December 4)

† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths ‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year

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