Great Alaska Earthquake, Prince William Sound,

March 28, 1964

https://data.noaa.gov/dataset/great-alaska-earthquake-prince-william-sound-march-28-1964
The Prince William Sound magnitude 8.4 earthquake at 03:36 UT on March 28, 1964, was one of
the largest shocks ever recorded on the North American Continent. The quake was felt over 500,000
square miles. The quake took 131 lives and caused $350-500 million in property damage (One
hundred twenty-two of the deaths were attributed to the tsunami.) The area of the damage zone
(50,000 square miles) and the duration of the quake (3 to 4 minutes) were extraordinary. This set of
slides shows geologic changes, damage to structures, transportation systems, and utilities and
tsunami damage. It features the effects of four major landslides in Anchorage during the 1964 event.
Certainly the quake would have claimed many more lives had the population not been sparse, the
weather clement, and had the quake not occurred during the off-season for fishing and on the
evening of a holiday when the schools were empty and most offices deserted.Geologic Changes The quake was accompanied by vertical displacement of earth over a 100,000 square mile region.
The maximum uplift recorded was 33 feet (10 m) on land, and as much as 50 feet (15 m) on the sea
floor. Subsidence exceeded 7 feet (2 m). The uplift destroyed or greatly impaired the usefulness of
many harbors. The habitats of many animals, trees and other vegetation were destroyed or damaged
by subsidence. Low-lying settlements and many miles of railroad and highway were dropped below
the level of high tide so that they were periodically flooded and attacked by storm waves. Crustal
deformation associated with this earthquake was the most extensive ever recorded and extended far
beyond the epicentral area. Faulting of bedrock at the earth's surface during the earthquake was
found only in the area of maximum tectonic uplift on southwest Montague Island in Prince William
Sound and on the sea floor southwest of Montague Island. No faulting at the surface was found in
the zone between the areas that were tectonically uplifted and downdropped. Grabens (elongated
down-dropped blocks between faults) formed in many places. The strong ground motion induced
many snowslides, rockfalls, and subaerial and subaqueous landslides. Large subaerial slides in
Anchorage and subaqueous slides at Valdez and Seward damaged streets, buildings, utilities, and
shore side structures. Numerous slope and embankment failures harmed railways, highways, and
particularly bridges. Rock avalanches and snow avalanches, subsidence, and consolidation
occurred; and cracks, fissures, and sand spouts developed in many places. Soil liquefaction played a
major roll in the development of most landslides.Damage To Structures, Transportation, and Utilities
- Anchorage, Cordova, Homer, Kodiak, Seldovia, Seward, and Valdez were damaged severely by
uplift or subsidence, shaking, landslides, tsunamis, and fires. In Anchorage damaging landslides
occurred in Turnagain, Fourth Avenue, "L" Street, and Government Hill areas. Structural damage
was largely the result of landslides. Seismic vibration caused severe structural damage in
Anchorage, Valdez, and the large delta of the Coper River. Damage from seismic vibration was most
common in buildings and structures constructed of heavy materials and tended to be most severe in
tall buildings. Notable among the partly or completely collapsed buildings in Anchorage were the
Four Seasons apartment building, the Government Hill School, and the J.C. Penney building.

However, many of the heavy structures in these areas sustained minimal seismic damage. Generally
well-built wood-frame buildings of seismic resistant design sustained very little damage from
vibration generated by the earthquake. Valdez was severely damaged by a large submarine
landslide and the resulting waves that destroyed the waterfront facilities. The ground beneath the
town was deformed damaging the foundations of structures. The town was moved to a new site at a
cost of $37,500,000.Damage to surface transportation facilities was extensive. Landslides,
embankment failures, subsidence of ground, tsunami action, and soil movements that distorted or
destroyed bridges were the main causes of damage. The Alaska Railroad lost its port facility at
Whittier, its docks at Seward, and numerous bridges on the Kenai Peninsula. Reconstruction of the
railroad facilities was completed in two and one half years at a cost of $22 million. Many highway
bridges, especially on the Seward and Copper River highways, were damaged. Many port and
harbor facilities, especially at Seward, Valdez, Kodiak, Whittier, Cordova, and Homer, were
destroyed. The major damage to utilities occurred in Anchorage where the earth slides set in motion
by the earthquake caused extensive damage to all utility systems. Oil storage tanks at Valdez,
Seward, and Whittier ruptured and burned.Tsunamis - The submarine landslides resulting from the
earthquake created local sea waves or tsunamis, which, together with the major tsunami generated
by the crustal deformation, smashed port and harbor facilities, disturbed and killed salmon fry,
leveled forests, and caused the saltwater invasion of many coastal freshwater lakes. In addition to
the local tsunamis the earthquake generated a major tsunami that was recorded throughout the
Pacific Basin and lapped against Antarctica. The major tsunami caused extensive damage outside
Alaska in Port Alberni British Columbia and took 16 lives in Oregon and California. Of the one
hundred twenty-two deaths resulting from the tsunamis, at least 71 deaths were blamed on the local
slump-generated tsunamis in Alaska. The quake also generated seiches in rivers, harbors, channels,
lakes, and swimming pools as distant as the United States Gulf Coast States. Total tsunami damage
amounted to about $84 million in Alaska.

1964 Alaska earthquake

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Alaska_earthquake

1964 Alaska earthquake

Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, looking east from

near Barrow Street. The southern edge of one of several
landslides in Anchorage, this one covered an area of
over a dozen blocks, including 5 blocks along the north
side of Fourth Avenue. Most of the area was razed and
made an urban renewal district.

Date

27 March 1964 (AKST)

Magnitude

9.2 Mw[1]

Depth

14 miles (23 km)

Epicenter

6130N 1472848W

Type

Megathrust

Areas affected

United States, Canada

Total damage

$311 million

Max. intensity

XI (Extreme)

Peak acceleration

0.18 g

Casualties

139 killed

The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday
earthquake, occurred at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27.[2] Across south-central Alaska,
ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139
deaths.[3]

Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake was the
most powerful recorded in North American history, and the second most powerful recorded in world
history. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural
damage in several communities and much damage to property. Anchorage sustained great
destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake engineered houses, buildings, and
infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other manmade equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Two hundred miles
southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9.1 m). Southeast of
Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much
as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new
high tide mark.
In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the
deaths of 30 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship
that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m)tsunami destroyed the village
of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high
ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan
communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and
California.[4] Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related
to the earthquake was reported from all over the world.
Contents
[hide]

1Geology

2Tsunamis

3Death toll, damage, and casualties

o

3.1Anchorage area

3.2Elsewhere in Alaska

3.3Canada

3.4Elsewhere

4Aftershocks

5See also

6References
o

6.1General references
7External links

Geology[edit]
At 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time (3:36 a.m. March 28, 1964 UTC), a fault between
the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound.
The epicenter of the earthquake was 12.4 mi (20 km) north of Prince William Sound, 78 miles
(125 km) east of Anchorage and 40 miles (64 km) west of Valdez. The focus occurred at a depth of
approximately 15.5 mi (25 km). Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 220 feet (67 m) in
height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. [5] Large rockslides
were also caused, resulting in great property damage. Vertical displacement of up to 38 feet (11.5 m)
occurred, affecting an area of 100,000 miles (250,000 km) within Alaska.
Studies of ground motion have led to a peak ground acceleration estimate of 0.140.18 g.[6]
The Alaska Earthquake was a subduction zone earthquake (megathrust earthquake), caused by an
oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. The fault responsible was theAleutian Megathrust, a
reverse fault caused by a compressional force. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the
result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation.

Tsunamis[edit]

Calculated travel time map for the tectonic tsunami produced by the 1964 Prince William Sound earthquake in
Alaska. Tsunami Travel Times computed using TTT v3.1 (P. Wessel). Map does not show the height or strength
of the waves, only the calculated travel times.

Red: 1- to 4-hour arrival times

Yellow: 5- to 6-hour arrival times

Green: 7- to 14-hour arrival times

Blue: 15- to 21-hour arrival times.

Two types of tsunamis were produced by this subduction zone earthquake. There was a tectonic
tsunami produced in addition to about 20 smaller and local tsunamis. These smaller tsunami were
produced by submarine and subaerial landslides and were responsible for the majority of the
tsunami damage. Tsunami waves were noted in over 20 countries, including: Peru, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Japan, and Antarctica. The largest tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay,
Alaska, with a height of about 220 ft (67 m).[3]

Death toll, damage, and casualties[edit]

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The largest landslide in Anchorage occurred along Knik Arm between Point Woronzof and Fish Creek, causing
substantial damage to numerous homes in the Turnagain-By-The-Sea subdivision.

The ruin of Portage

A 2x6 plank driven through a ten-ply tire by the tsunami in Whittier.

As a result of the earthquake, 139 people are believed to have died: [3] Fifteen died as a result of the
earthquake itself, 106 died from the subsequent tsunami in Alaska, [7] 5 died from the tsunami
in Oregon, and 13 died from the tsunami in California. The quake was a reported XI on the modified
Mercalli Intensity scale "indicating major structural damage, and ground fissures and failures".
[8]
Property damage was estimated at about $311 million[3] ($2.29 billion in current U.S. dollars).

USGS video explaining the earthquake and footage

Anchorage area[edit]
Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (120 km) northwest of the epicenter. Anchorage was not
hit by tsunamis, but downtownAnchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of the city built on sandy
bluffs overlying "Bootlegger Cove clay" near Cook Inlet, most notably the Turnagain neighborhood,
suffered landslide damage. The neighborhood lost 75 houses in the landslide, and the destroyed
area has since been turned into Earthquake Park. The Government Hill school suffered from the
Government Hill landslide leaving it in two jagged, broken pieces. Land overlooking the Ship Creek
valley near the Alaska Railroad yards also slid, destroying many acres of buildings and city blocks in
downtown Anchorage. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged. The 60-foot

concrete control tower at theAnchorage International Airport was not engineered to withstand
earthquake activity and collapsed, killing William George Taylor, the Federal Aviation Agency Air
Traffic Controller on duty in the tower cab at the time the earthquake began. [9]
One house on W. 10th Avenue suffered peripheral damage, but only one block away the recently
completed (and still unoccupied) Four Seasons Building on Ninth Avenue collapsed completely, with
the concrete elevator shafts sticking up out of the rubble like a seesaw.
The hamlets of Girdwood and Portage, located 30 and 40 mi (60 km) southeast of central Anchorage
on the Turnagain Arm, were destroyed by subsidence and subsequent tidal action. Girdwood was
relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. About 20 miles (32 km) of the Seward Highway sank
below the high-water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in
196466.

Elsewhere in Alaska[edit]
Most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas,
especially the major ports of Seward, Whittierand Kodiak were heavily damaged by a combination of
seismic activity, subsidence, post-quake tsunamis and/or earthquake-caused fires. Valdez was not
totally destroyed, but after three years, the town relocated to higher ground 7 km (4 mi) west of its
original site. SomeAlaska Native villages, including Chenega and Afognak, were destroyed or
damaged. The earthquake caused the Cold-War era ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air
Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history.
Near Cordova, the Million Dollar Bridge crossing the Copper River also collapsed. The community of
Girdwood was also confined to the southern side of the Seward Highway when water rushed into
Turnagain Arm and flooded or destroyed any buildings left standing to the north of the highway.
Interestingly, only the ground immediately along the highway and that on the north side of the road
dropped, prompting geologists to speculate that Girdwood may rest upon an ancient cliff face, now
covered by countless thousands of years of sediment and glacial deposits. [citation needed]

Canada[edit]
A 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, just south of the Alaska Panhandle,
about three hours after the earthquake. The tsunami then reached Tofino, on the exposed west
coast of Vancouver Island, and traveled up a fjord to hit Port Albernitwice, washing away 55 homes
and damaging 375 others. The towns of Hot Springs Cove, Zeballos, and Amai also saw damage.
[10]
The damage in British Columbia was estimated at $10 million Canadian (or $77.3 million in today's
Canadian dollars, or $76.3 million in today's U.S. dollars).

Elsewhere[edit]

A winter scene of a "Ghost forest" that was killed and preserved by salt water along with ruined buildings at the
site of the former town of Portage, 2011

Twelve people were killed by the tsunami in or near Crescent City, California, while four children
were killed on the Oregon coast atBeverly Beach State Park.[11] Other coastal towns in the
U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Minor damage to boats occurred as far south
as Los Angeles.[12] Effects of the earthquake were even noted as far east as Texas. Tide gauges
in Freeportrecorded waves similar to seismic surface waves.[13] In the Florida Everglades, an artesian
aquifer located near Lake Chekika saw its water flow rate double from 3 million gallons per day to 6
million gallons per day, 60 to 90 minutes after the first shock of the earthquake. [14]

Aftershocks[edit]
There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock. In the first day
alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. Nine more struck
over the next three weeks. In all, thousands of aftershocks occurred in the months following the
quake, and smaller aftershocks continued to strike the region for more than a year.[12]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1964_03_28.php

1964 Great Alaska Earthquake

1964 March 28 03:36 UTC
1964 March 27 05:36 p.m. local time
Magnitude 9.2

Largest Earthquake in Alaska

The Great Alaska

Earthquake and Tsunami

of March 27, 1964 - a
compilation of information
on the 50th anniversary
Isoseismal Map -

contoured shaking
intensity map
1964 Great Alaska

Earthquake Photo Tour of

Anchorage - interactive
map with photos
Damage

Photos: 1 2 3
Damage Photos from

the USGS Photographic

Library
Seismograms - photos

of historic helicorder
records
Did You Feel It? Map

Google Earth KML

(requires Google Earth)

This great earthquake and ensuing tsunami took 131 lives (tsunami 122, earthquake 9), and caused
about $2.3 billion in property loss (in 2013 dollars; equivalent to $311 million in 1964). Earthquake
effects were heavy in many towns, including Anchorage, Chitina, Glennallen, Homer, Hope, Kasilof,
Kenai, Kodiak, Moose Pass, Portage, Seldovia, Seward, Sterling, Valdez, Wasilla, and Whittier.
Anchorage, about 120 kilometers northwest of the epicenter, sustained the most severe damage to
property. About 30 blocks of dwellings and commercial buildings were damaged or destroyed in the
downtown area. The J.C. Penney Company building was damaged beyond repair; the Four Seasons
apartment building, a new six-story structure, collapsed; and many other multistory buildings were
damaged heavily. The schools in Anchorage were almost devastated. The Government Hill Grade

School, sitting astride a huge landslide, was almost a total loss. Anchorage High School and Denali
Grade School were damaged severely. Duration of the shock was estimated at 3 minutes.
Landslides in Anchorage caused heavy damage. Huge slides occurred in the downtown business
section, at Government Hill, and at Turnagain Heights. The largest and most devastating landslide
occurred at Turnagain Heights. An area of about 130 acres was devastated by displacements that
broke the ground into many deranged blocks that were collapsed and tilted at all angles. This slide
destroyed about 75 private houses. Water mains and gas, sewer, telephone, and electrical systems
were disrupted throughout the area.

Five-story J.C. Penney Building, 5th Avenue and Downing Street, Anchorage, Alaska, partly collapsed
by the March 28, 1964 earthquake. Note undamaged buildings nearby.

Landslide and slumping effects in the Turnagain Heights area, Anchorage, Alaska, caused by the March
28, 1964, earthquake.

The earthquake was accompanied by vertical displacement over an area of about 520,000 square
kilometers. The major area of uplift trended northeast from southern Kodiak Island to Price William
Sound and trended east-west to the east of the sound. Vertical displacements ranged from about 11.5
meters of uplift to 2.3 meters of subsidence relative to sea level. Off the southwest end of Montague
Island, there was absolute vertical displacement of about 13 - 15 meters. Uplift also occurred along the
extreme southeast coast of Kodiak Island, Sitkalidak Island, and over part or all of Sitkinak Island. This
zone of subsidence covered about 285,000 square kilometers, including the north and west parts of
Prince William Sound, the west part of the Chugach Mountains, most of Kenai Peninsula, and almost
all the Kodiak Island group.
This shock generated a tsunami that devastated many towns along the Gulf of Alaska, and left serious
damage at Alberni and Port Alberni, Canada, along the West Coast of the United States (15 killed), and
in Hawaii. The maximum wave height recorded was 67 meters at Valdez Inlet. Seiche action in rivers,
lakes, bayous, and protected harbors and waterways along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas
caused minor damage. It was also recorded on tide gages in Cuba and Puerto Rico.
This great earthquake was felt over a large area of Alaska and in parts of western Yukon Territory 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.