QuakeIndex

Fault · Alaska

Denali fault

1,558 kmlong (968 mi), as mapped
> 5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
873quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides grind past each other faster than 5 mm a year — more than half a metre (20 inches) every century.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.2 in 1912 (Mount McKinley (Denali) area, Alaska) — about 2,000,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 950 kilotons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 11 sections: Boss Creek section, Chatham Strait section, Chilkat River section, Dalton section, Farewell section, Holitna section, Togiak-Tikchik section, Tonzona-Muldrow section….

This week vs. its last ten years

4/100

quiet

2 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 4% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 4–8.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

Alaska-Aleutian subduction zoneFairweather fault systemTransition faultPamplona faultGulf of Alaska shear zoneTintina faultTotschunda faultNorthern Foothills thrust fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Castle Mountain faultYakutat fault (also known as Foothills fault)Chaix Hills fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Bendeleben faultKosakuts fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Hope Creek fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Patton Bay faultCoal Glacier fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Park Road fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Malaspina fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)White River syncline (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Yakataga anticline (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Boundary faultKigluaik faultCathedral Rapids faults (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Molybdenum Ridge fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Middle Ground Shoal anticline (Cook Inlet folds)Miller Creek fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Dot ''T'' Johnson fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)McGinnis Glacier fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Susitna Glacier faultSullivan fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Ten Fathom faultRagged Mountain faultGranite Mountain fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Kayak faultPass Creek faultBancas Point faultBilly Creek fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Donnelly Dome fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Granite Point anticline (Cook Inlet folds)Yaga syncline (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Canteen fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt)Wingham faultOtmeloi fault M 7.2 · 1912 · Mount McKinley (Denali) area, Alaska M 6.8 · 1932 · Alaska Range, about 220 km NW of Anchorage M 6.4 · 1912 · Mount McKinley (Denali) area, Alaska M 6.0 · 1932 · 90 km SE of Nikolai, Alaska
The Denali fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 400 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 7.2 Mount McKinley (Denali) area, Alaska
    July 7, 1912 · epicentre 8 km from the trace
  2. M 6.8 Alaska Range, about 220 km NW of Anchorage
    March 25, 1932 · epicentre 5 km from the trace
  3. M 6.4 Mount McKinley (Denali) area, Alaska
    July 8, 1912 · epicentre 20 km from the trace
  4. M 6.3 48 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
    May 1, 2017 · epicentre 5 km from the trace
  5. M 6.2 47 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
    May 1, 2017 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  6. M 6.0 90 km SE of Nikolai, Alaska
    March 25, 1932 · epicentre 12 km from the trace
  7. M 5.7 42 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
    May 1, 2017 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  8. M 5.6 41 km NW of Mosquito Lake, Alaska
    May 1, 2017 · epicentre 6 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.6 74 km WSW of Cantwell, Alaska
    2026-09-23 · 7 km from the trace
  2. M 2.7 68 km ESE of Denali National Park, Alaska
    2026-09-10 · 0 km from the trace
  3. M 3.0 16 km NNE of Cantwell, Alaska
    2026-09-04 · 9 km from the trace
  4. M 2.5 74 km ESE of Denali National Park, Alaska
    2026-09-01 · 8 km from the trace
  5. M 3.1 13 km N of Mentasta Lake, Alaska
    2026-08-28 · 9 km from the trace
  6. M 3.0 56 km ESE of Denali National Park, Alaska
    2026-08-25 · 9 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.