It may come as a surprise to the 39 million residents of California, but Alaska claims the title as the state with the most earthquakes. While Washington State falls into the top five earthquake-prone states, it’s not in the top three. Alaska is the most seismically active state and the site of the largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States—a magnitude 9.2 event in 1964.
According to Groundworks, citing data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), earthquakes occur regularly in Alaska. The state experiences 11 percent of the world’s earthquakes and 17.5 percent of those in the United States. On average, Alaska sees one magnitude 7.0 to 8.0 earthquake yearly and a magnitude 8.0 or more significant quake roughly every 13 years.
Alaska’s high seismic activity is attributed mainly to the Alaskan-Aleutian Megathrust, an active fault zone. However, Alaska’s vast land area of 663,000 square miles and relatively small population of 733,000 mean fewer people and properties are at risk compared to California. By contrast, with a land area of just 163,000 square miles and a population of 39 million, California faces a more significant potential impact from earthquakes.