Alaska has more earthquakes than any other state in the United States. Seismic activity results from its location on the Pacific and Artic Plates. Subduction occurs as the Pacific Plate slides under the Artic Plate. The trench between the two plates increases the seismic activity.

This activity may be used in a science earthquake unit or in a social studies unit on the state of Alaska.

Objective #1: Students will describe how a natural event, the Alaskan Earthquake of 1964, in the physical environment affected human activity.

Essential Element: Environment and Society

Standard #15: How physical systems affect human systems.

Knowledge Statement #2: How variations within the physical environment produce spatial pattern that affect human adaptation.

Skill Set #1: Ask Geographic Questions

Skill #1: Ask geographic questions – Where is it located? Why is it there? What is significant about its location? How is its location related to the locations of other people, places and environments?

Theme: Location

1. Fact sheet on 1964 Earthquake
2. Maps of Alaska
3. Map of the Pacific and Artic Plates with trenches indicated.
4. Globes
5. Chalk
6. Sponges
7. Large writing paper or computer projection screen
8. Tag board strips.
9. Pencils and paper

1. The teacher would have students recall information they learned about earthquakes. Teacher would record information on a large writing paper or on a computer projection for the class. Students should recall where earthquakes occur, what causes them, what happens in an earthquake. It may include that the most earthquakes occur in the Ring of Fire.
2. Students would stand in pairs on the Ring of Fire fault on a map of the world drawn on the playground.
3. Each student is given a sponge. Facing each other they push the sponges towards one another.
4. Regroup the class and have each pair of students retell what happened to their sponges. Add this information to the original account of earthquakes. Try to include verbs such as sliding, crumbling, breaking, and upward or downward motion.
5. Now pass out the names of Alaskan cities written on pieces of tag board. Have students stand at the approximate location on the map.
6. Tell students that an earthquake has just happened in Prince William Soiund which lasted four minutes. During the earthquake they can’t stand, walk, or crawl. Students should now shake for four minutes. Then they should work in pairs and make two lists. One list would indicate what happened in their city during the earthquake. The other list should indicate what changes they would make in their city.

1. Students would compare their lists with the list of destruction from the 1964 Alaskan earthquake.
2. They would view the information from the Time -Life Book on Earthquake by Bryce Walker.

1. Students would list other recommendations for building in earthquake zones.
2. Students can list the impact glacial carving of fjords may have had on the Alaskan Fault Zones.

Group discussion comparing student’s list of destruction from the earthquake to the actual destruction would be recorded on the computer projection. Further discussion of the impact of location on fault zones and future planning would include the fact that Valdez moved four miles away from the fault zone. Also Seward allows no building close to the water. Students would discuss the pros and cons of these decisions.

Earthquake Fact Sheet

Date: March 27, 1964

Time: 5:36 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. It lasted four minutes.

Death Rate: 131 people died in Alaska, Oregon, and California

Magnitude: This was the second largest earthquake in North America ever recorded. The 1820 Illinois earthquake may have been larger. The magnitude was estimated between 8.3. and 8.6 on the Richter Scale. A reading of 8.6 doubles the magnitude of 8.3. It released an amount of energy equal to 10 times the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.

Epicenter: Prince William Sound and College Fjord

Statistics on a few Alaskan cities

Seward was at the top of the belt area. It had a trembling earth, flooding from the tsunami, and fire. A section of Seward’s waterfront fell into the bay. This included the city pier, the boatyard, a cement plant, docks, and warehouses. A fire started when pipes leading to storage tanks burst open. There were explosions as burning petroleum spilled out into the harbor. A tidal wave, tsunami, pushed boats, timber, rail track, bridge trusses, and boxcars inland. Twelve people died as the wave carried men and vehicles 50 feet from the road and 32 feet above the water level. There was 15 million worth of property damage. Seward was lifted 33 feet.

Kodiak Island is located 200 miles from Prince William Sound. The ground trembled causing little damage. The seismic waves caused the most damage. The first wave hit at 5:45 p.m. causing the water to recede until less than 2 feet remained in the harbor. The second wave hit at 6:20 p.m. cresting seventeen feet above normal water level. It carried boats, docks, houses, and six-ton harbor buoys into the town. During the night eight more waves pounded Kodiak’s shore. Eight people died. There was $25 million of property damage. Kodiak was dropped 32 feet.

Anchorage was the largest town affected. It had damage due to glacial settling and two landslides. The glacial settling occurred when a peak on the Chugach Mountain next to Sherman Glacier shattered. A five hundred-foot section of the mountain sheared away and fell covering the glacier with debris. The landslides were located in Anchorage. One caused land to slide into a shipping creek. The other caused land to slide into salt water. Damage included a school, which slid, a water tower fell, and a housing complex was cut horizontally. Many transportation routes were ruined as the road from Anchorage to Portage fell six feet, towers at airports fell, sections of bridges broke, and rocks dropped on many roads. Anchorage shifted six feet. There was $11 million worth of property damage.

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