QuakeIndex

Fault · Alaska

Pamplona fault

275 kmlong (171 mi), as mapped
1–5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
32quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 1 to 5 mm a year — 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 inches) every century.

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 8.2 in 1899 (The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (First Major Event)) — about 55,000,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 26 megatons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 8 sections: BT2, BT4, BT5, F1, F2, F3, F4, unnamed strand.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–0.

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

Alaska-Aleutian subduction zoneDenali faultTransition faultChaix Hills fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Kosakuts fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Hope Creek fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Coal Glacier fault (Chugach-St. Elias 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)Miller Creek fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Sullivan fault (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Ten Fathom faultRagged Mountain faultKayak faultYaga syncline (Chugach-St. Elias fold and thrust belt)Wingham fault M 8.2 · 1899 · The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (First Major Event) M 6.9 · 1899 · The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (Strong Aftershock) M 6.9 · 1899 · The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (Strong Aftershock) M 6.7 · 1970 · 163 km W of Yakutat, Alaska M 6.2 · 1970 · 165 km SE of Cordova, Alaska M 6.1 · 1965 · 171 km SE of Cordova, Alaska
The Pamplona fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 32 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 8.2 The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (First Major Event)
    September 4, 1899 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  2. M 6.9 The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (Strong Aftershock)
    September 4, 1899 · epicentre 16 km from the trace
  3. M 6.9 The 1899 Yakutat Bay, Alaska Earthquakes (Strong Aftershock)
    September 23, 1899 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  4. M 6.7 163 km W of Yakutat, Alaska
    April 16, 1970 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  5. M 6.2 165 km SE of Cordova, Alaska
    February 24, 1970 · epicentre 3 km from the trace
  6. M 6.1 171 km SE of Cordova, Alaska
    September 30, 1965 · epicentre 4 km from the trace
  7. M 4.2 109 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    March 10, 2019 · epicentre 10 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 2.9 107 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    2026-07-15 · 2 km from the trace
  2. M 3.2 106 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    2026-07-15 · 1 km from the trace
  3. M 2.6 111 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    2026-02-15 · 5 km from the trace
  4. M 3.1 102 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    2026-01-29 · 3 km from the trace
  5. M 3.1 104 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    2026-01-29 · 7 km from the trace
  6. M 2.9 106 km WNW of Yakutat, Alaska
    2026-01-02 · 5 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.