Chilkat Valley residents reported a big midday shake last week as a 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck 20 miles southwest of Klukwan in Glacier Bay on Thursday, July 8.
“The two well-known faults are kind of east and west of it,” said Natalia Ruppert, a seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center. “This earthquake was not on either of those faults.”
Ruppert said the quake was between the Denali and Fairweather faults, in an area where earthquakes are common.
The earthquake center classified the shaking from the event as light to moderate. The quake had a depth of 4.3 miles and was reportedly felt throughout Southeast Alaska.
Chilkat Valley residents took to Facebook, reporting shaking out the Haines Highway and in town. Skagway and Juneau residents also reported feeling the quake.
According to an email update from the borough, the consulting firm Landslide Technologies is in town to monitor the Beach Road landslide area during debris removal this month, and reported there were no changes to that area from the earthquake.
Several aftershocks came in the hours following the initial earthquake, but tapered off after several hours. Ruppert said it was unlikely aftershocks would continue beyond the day of the quake.