1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunamis

At 5:36 pm (Alaska time) on March 27, 1964, without warning, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history occurred in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Valdez, Anchorage, and many villages along the Alaska Coast were significantly damaged or destroyed by the magnitude 9.2 earthquake and the tsunamis that followed. Over 130 people died in Alaska, Oregon, and California. Damage from the tsunamis alone, which also impacted the west coasts of the United States and Canada and Hawaii, was estimated at almost $1 billion (2015 dollars).

General Resources

• 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Earthquake - Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 - Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage
• The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunamis: A Modern Perspective and Enduring Legacies - U.S. Geological Survey
• The Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964 - U.S. Geological Survey
• The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 - Alaska Earthquake Information Center

Videos and Photos

• 1964 Earthquake Survivors - Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Ocean Fury Part 1, Part 2 - Alaska Sea Grant College Program
• 1964 Earthquake at Valdez - Alaska Film Archives
• Though the Earth be Moved - U.S. Office of Civil Defense
• Tsunami Animation: Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1964 - Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
• 1964 Quake: The Great Alaska Earthquake - U.S. Geological Survey
• Magnitude 9.2: The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake - U.S. Geological Survey
• Miscellaneous Video Clips - Alaska Film Archives
• March 28, 1964 Prince William Sound USA Earthquake and Tsunami (photos) - NOAA National Geophysical Data Center
• Alaska Earthquake 1964 (photos) - U.S. Geological Survey
• 1964 Alaska M9 Earthquake Causes & Effects - Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology