Alaskan seismic gap only partially filled by 28 February 1979 earthquake

Journal Article · Fri Mar 21 00:00:00 EST 1980 · Science; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.207.4437.1351· OSTI ID:6599870

Lahr, J C ^[1]; Stephens, C D; Hasegawa, H S; Boatwright, J

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1. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

The Saint Elias, Alaska, earthquake (magnitude 7.7) of 28 February 1979 is the first major earthquake since 1900 to occur along the complex Pacific-North American plate boundary between Yakutat Bay and Prince William Sound. This event involved complex rupture on a shallow, low-angle, north-dipping fault beneath the Chugach and Saint Elias Mountains. The plate boundary between Yakutat Bay and Prince William Sound had been identified as a seismic gap, an area devoid of major earthquakes during the last few decades, and was thought to be a likely site for a future major earthquake. Since the Saint Elias earthquake fills only the eastern quarter of the gap, the remainder of the gap to the west is a prime area for the study of precursory and coseismic phenomena associated with large earthquakes. 1 figure, 1 table.

• OSTI ID: 6599870
• Journal Information: Science; (United States), Vol. 207:4437
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
ALASKA
EARTHQUAKES
AFTERSHOCKS
DEPTH
EPICENTERS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FORECASTING
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
RAYLEIGH WAVES
DATA
DIMENSIONS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
INFORMATION
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
SEISMIC EVENTS
SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES
SEISMIC WAVES
USA
580201* - Geophysics- Seismology & Tectonics- (1980-1989)