Between 1899 and early 1991, ten Alaska earthquakes ocurred that equaled of exceeded a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale. Alaska is the most seismic of all the 50 states, and the most seismically active part of the state is the Aleutian Islands arc system.

The most destructive earthquake to strike Alaska accured at 5:36 p.m. on Good Friday, March 27, 1964m a day now referred to as Black Friday. Anchorage lay only 80 miles from the epicenter. Registering between 8.4 and 8.6 on the richter scale the earthquake spread shock waves that were felt 700 miles away. 131 persons were killed in the quake and the seismic waves that followed, 103 of them were Alaskans.

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