2015 has seen fewer earthquakes than 2014 despite three sizable ones felt in southcentral Alaska recently, including last night’s 6.4 magnitude.
Alaska Earthquake Center Seismologist Natalia Ruppert said although the Iliamna region where the earthquake originated is fairly active, that size of earthquake is not often seen in there.
Ruppert: So in terms of the size it was a rare event but in terms of location it was not unusual.”
Around 12 aftershocks were recorded after Wednesday’s earthquake but Ruppert said most were not felt because of the depth of the origin.
We asked if it was related to volcanic activity.
Ruppert: “None of these earthquakes were directly related to volcanoes. The earthquake last night under Iliamna, although on a map it shows near the volcano, it’s actually 100 miles deep so it’s not really related to any volcanic activity.”
Volcanic seismic activity tends to register around magnitude 1 or 2.