Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault
SE Alaska / British Columbia · oceanic transform · 2142.5 km of mapped active fault in 16 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 0 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.09 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 34 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 1.13 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 2142.5 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 16 |
| Tectonic setting | oceanic transform |
| Slip types | Strike-Slip |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 54.60 to 60.14 latitude, -139.55 to -134.07 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 8 significant earthquakes and 8 tsunamis attributed to this system since 1880.
The deadliest was the 10 July 1958 magnitude 7.8 earthquake (Alaska: Lituya Bay), which killed 5 people.
The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 8.2, on 4 September 1899 (Alaska: Cape Yakataga).
The most recent entry is the 25 July 2014 magnitude 6.0 earthquake (Alaska: Southeastern).
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 July 1958 | tsunami (waves to 524.6 m) | Se. Alaska, Ak | 5 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 10 July 1958 | magnitude 7.8 earthquake | Alaska: Lituya Bay | 5 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 10 September 1899 | tsunami (waves to 61 m) | Yakutat Bay, Ak | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 4 September 1899 | magnitude 8.2 earthquake | Alaska: Cape Yakataga | damage under $1 million |
| 10 September 1899 | magnitude 7.8 earthquake | Alaska: Cape Yakataga | - |
| 30 July 1972 | magnitude 7.6 earthquake | Alaska: Sitka, Juneau | damage under $1 million |
| 5 January 2013 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Alaska: Southeastern | damage under $1 million |
| 24 October 1927 | magnitude 7.1 earthquake | Alaska: Se Alaska | damage under $1 million |
| 26 October 1880 | magnitude 7.0 earthquake | Alaska: Southeastern | - |
| 25 July 2014 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Alaska: Southeastern | - |
| 4 September 1899 | tsunami (waves to 3.1 m) | Cape Yakataga, Ak | damage under $1 million |
| 26 October 1880 | tsunami (waves to 1.8 m) | Sitka, Ak | - |
| 5 January 2013 | tsunami (waves to 1.5 m) | Se. Alaska, Ak | damage under $1 million |
| 30 July 1972 | tsunami (waves to 0.1 m) | Se. Alaska, Ak | damage under $1 million |
| 25 July 2014 | tsunami (waves to 0.1 m) | Palma Bay, Ak | - |
| 24 October 1927 | tsunami | Se. Alaska, Ak | damage under $1 million |
A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Who to listen to if you live here
Get Prepared (Public Safety Canada) is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/hzd/rthqks-en.aspx (in English)
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.