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The largest inland earthquake in North America in almost 150 years struck Alaska on November 3, 2002. The second largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the world occurred along the eastern Aleutian subduction zone, the Mw9.2 Great Alaskan earthquake of 1964. No oil spilled, and pipeline operations resumed after … Alaska's network of faults is a result of tectonic activity; the Pacific Plate is actively subducting (sliding under) the North American Plate, and the Denali Fault is located on the boundary between the two plates. Alaska’s Denali Fault was on the move, jostling the state with a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. Shortly after midday on November 3, 2002, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake ruptured the Denali Fault in the rugged Alaska Range, about 90 miles south of Fairbanks. This presents a rare opportunity to catch a major earthquake in the act. The M 7.9 Denali Fault event was preceded by the magnitude 6.7 Nenana Mountain event on October 23, 2002. On November 3, 2002 a devastating earthquake rattled Alaska. Four month of data remain unprocessed at this time (January-April, 2003). A magnitude 4.4 foreshock preceded the Denali Fault mainshock by 3.5 hours. USGS studies of the Denali Fault earthquake are part of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program's ongoing efforts to safeguard lives and property from the future quakes that are certain to strike in Alaska, California, and elsewhere in the United States. The Great M7.9 Denali Fault, Alaska earthquake of Nov 3, 2002: Geotechnical Engineering Reconnissance Report - A Slide Presentation. Instrumental recordings of ground motion near earthquakes like the Denali Fault quake are critical for improving engineering design, but such quakes do not occur often. The November 3, 2002, M w 7.9 Denali Fault earthquake produced about 340 km of surface rupture along the Susitna Glacier Thrust Fault and the right-lateral, strike-slip Denali and Totschunda Faults. Rupture Directivity of the 3 November 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake Determined from Surface Waves Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Radiated Energy and the Rupture Process of the Denali Fault Earthquake Sequence of 2002 from Broadband Teleseismic Body Waves 2). This powerful shock may have been triggered by a magnitude 6.7 temblor, the Nenana Mountain earthquake, that occurred nearby on the same fault 10 days earlier. (Photo and interpretation by Wesley K. Wallace, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks), Of the population centers, the hardest hit were the villages of Mentasta and Northway, located at the eastern end of the rupture zone. The 1857 California and 2002 Alaska earthquakes struck far from major cities, causing little or no loss of life. It started with thrust (upward) motion on a previously unknown fault, now called the Susitna Glacier Fault. The focus of our investigation was to characterize the spatial extent and amplitude of ground failures and fault … After the Nenana Mountain earthquake, AEIC installed several temporary seismographs, including some ANSS instruments. While the fault rupture lasted for approximately 100 sec from its initiation to the arrest, its distal effects were felt for many days. UAF is an AA/EO employer and educational institution and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual. The aftershock zone terminates !10 km west of In contrast, the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake, which had the same magnitude, caused 67 deaths and $40 billion in damage when it struck the densely populated Los Angeles region. The Denali Fault is a major strike-slip fault in western North America, extending from northwestern British Columbia, Canada, to the central region of the U.S. state of Alaska. The MW (moment magnitude) 7.9 Denali fault earthquake on 3 November 2002 was associated with 340 kilometers of surface rupture and was the largest strike-slip earthquake in North America in almost 150 years. In the distance, the rugged peaks of Mts. The first locatable triggered earthquake was a magnitude 2.6 shock about 12.5 miles east of Salt Lake City. However, full ANSS instrumentation on either end of the 2002 rupture is critical if this goal is to be achieved. Geotechnical Observations of the November 3, 2002 M7.9 Denali Fault Earthquake. By studying earthquakes like the 2002 Denali Fault earthquake, scientists and engineers gain the knowledge necessary to reduce the vulnerability of buildings and other structures to damage in these inevitable and terrifying events. The onslaught of the data has created processing delays. The M7.9 was the largest earthquake to occur in the interior of the state in recorded history. Largest aftershocks of the Nenana Mountain earthquake were the two magnitude 3.8 events. The Parks Highway, which connects Anchorage and Fairbanks, lies immediately east of the river north of the fault, but diverges from the river to the south. In the left foreground, the Nenana River marks the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. In 2002, the Denali Fault in central Alaska ruptured catastrophically, unleashing a magnitude-7.9 earthquake. The earthquake began at 1:12 p.m. Alaska local time, and was centered approximately 135 kilometers (84 miles) south of Fairbanks and 283 kilometers (176 miles) north of Anchorage. This places the rupture in the same class as those that produced the San Andreas fault's two historical great earthquakes in 1906 and 1857. Looking west along Denali fault photo: Wesley K. Wallace 2002: Mw = 7.9 Rupture length = 330 km Maximum RL offset = 8.8 m Denali Fault 2002 Denali Quake Caused huge landslide from an unnamed 7,000-foot-high peak in the Alaska Range, less than 10 miles west of the Trans- Alaska Oil Pipeline Was triggered by the 2002 Denali Fault earthquake. earthquake is believed to have ruptured at least part of the same segment of the Denali Fault in 1912 (Carver et al. It illuminates earthquake mechanics and hazards of large strike-slip faults. The epicenter of the November 3 earthquake was approximately 42 miles (68 km) east of the highway. The Denali Fault quake is similar to three earthquakes that ruptured the San Andreas Fault in the past few centuries. They also located major landslides caused by the quake. The view is eastward along the main strand of the Denali fault, which is marked here by a prominent linear valley along the southern edge of the Alaska Range. If we’re talking sheer magnitude, the largest recorded earthquake on North American soil hit Alaska on November 3, 2002. It ruptured three different faults ending with a total rupture length of ~330 km. Like some other large earthquakes, the Denali Fault quake triggered small shocks as far as 2,000 miles away, mainly in volcanic areas. Deborah and Hess rise to about 12,000 feet (3650 m) just north of the epicenters and the bend in the Denali fault. The Denali Fault is a Strike-Slip Fault Line Aftershocks of over M 5.0 are being felt near the epicenter of the original quake. Alaska’s Denali Fault was on the move, jostling the state with a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. Many active faults in Alaska are capable of generating large tsunamis that threaten coastal communities … The earthquake began about 80 km (50 miles) east of the Denali Visitor Center, and ruptured eastward along the Denali Fault, … In 2002, the Denali Fault ruptured in a sequence of earthquakes that commenced with the October 23 M6.7 Nenana Mountain right-lateral strike-slip earthquake and culminated with the November 3, M7.9 Denali earthquake which started as a thrust earthquake along a then unrecognized fault and continued with a larger right … During the 10 days following the Denali Fault earthquake, geologists from the USGS and Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, as well as several universities, mapped and measured the earthquake rupture on the ground and using aircraft. Additional instruments were deployed after the Denali Fault quake, and as of December 2002, a total of 26 temporary seismic stations were gathering data on the quake's aftershocks. Although slightly damaged by movement on the fault and by intense shaking, the pipeline did not break in the quake, averting a major economic and environmental disaster. The quake was the largest on the Denali Fault since at least 1912 and among the strongest earthquakes recorded in North America in the last 100 years. The Nenana Mountain and Denali Fault earthquakes generated a vigorous aftershock sequence. Like the Denali Fault quake, the Nenana Mountain shock caused only limited damage because of its remote location. Although comparable in size and type to the quake that devastated San Francisco in 1906, the Denali Fault earthquake caused no deaths and little damage to structures because it struck a sparsely populated region of south-central Alaska. The earthquake began at 1:12 p.m. Alaska local time, and was centered approximately 135 kilometers (84 miles) south of Fairbanks and 283 kilometers (176 miles) north of Anchorage. 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits! One facility that was badly damaged by the earthquake was the runway at Northway Airport, 40 miles from the eastern part of the November 3, 2002, fault rupture. However, the 1906 earthquake near San Francisco killed at least 700 people (the actual death toll was probably 3 to 4 times greater). The Castle Mountain Fault, which passes 25 miles north of Anchorage, exhibits geological evidence of Holocene offsets and generated the M5.6 1984 Sutton earthquake. Starting on the Susitna Glacier Thrust Fault, the rupture raced along the Denali Fault System and continued 220 kilometers until it reached the Totschunda Fault, rattling 70 more kilometers. On October 23, 2002 ANSS instruments earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the Alaska.. Few centuries, these stations are part of the November 3,.. 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