A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 13 miles north of Mount Iliamna on the western side of the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Alaska. (Screenshot/The Alaska Earthquake Center)

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 13 miles north of Mount Iliamna on the western side of the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Alaska. (Screenshot/The Alaska Earthquake Center)

4.7 magnitude earthquake strikes north of Iliamna

Mount Iliamna is an active volcano on the west side of Cook Inlet

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake shook Kenai Peninsula communities at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.

The epicenter of the temblor struck just 13 miles north of Mount Iliamna, which is an active volcano on the west side of Cook Inlet.

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck the western side of Cook Inlet on March 12, centered 31 miles northwest of Kenai and 31 miles northeast of the Mount Redoubt volcano. A 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck 29 miles northeast of Kenai at a depth of 28 miles on March 8.

Wednesday’s tremor near Iliamna hit at a depth of 92 miles.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

According to the earthquake center, strong quakes in southern Alaska are caused by the subducting Pacific and overriding North American tectonic plates. The second-largest rattle ever recorded worldwide struck under Prince William Sound in 1964. That earthquake was 9.2 on the Richter scale.

Some less devastating shakes are caused by the subducting Pacific Plate descending toward the mantle beneath the North American Plate. This zone of seismic activity extends from the Aleutian Arc to the Alaska Peninsula and Cool Inlet, where it ends underneath the northern foothills of the Alaska Range.

There were five other temblors on the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday, as of 5 p.m.: a 1.9 magnitude in Clam Gulch, a 1.2 in Tyonek, a 1.1 in Nikiski, a 1.9 in Whittier and a 1.5 in Ninilchik.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

An Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection vehicle stands among trees in Funny River, Alaska, on Oct. 2, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Early fire season begins with 2 small blazes reported and controlled

As of March 17, burn permits are required for all state, private and municipal lands.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Strigle named new Kenai district attorney

Former District Attorney Scot Leaders is leaving for a new position in Kotzebue.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche presents the findings of the Southcentral Mayors’ Energy Coalition during a luncheon hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Micciche reports back on Southcentral Mayors’ Energy Coalition

The group calls importation of natural gas a necessity in the short-term.

Christine Cunningham, left, and Mary Bondurant, right, both members of the Kenai Bronze Bear Sculpture Working Group, stand for a photo with Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel and a small model of the proposed sculpture during a luncheon hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Model of bronze bears debuted as airport display project seeks continued funding

The sculpture, intended for the airport exterior, will feature a mother bear and two cubs.

The Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninula Clarion)
State board approves Tułen Charter School

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe will be able to open their charter school this fall.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Homer Middle School teacher arrested on charges of sexual assault and burglary

Charles Kent Rininger, 38, was arrested March 12 by Alaska State Troopers.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski raises her right hand to demonstrate the oath she took while answering a question about her responsibility to defend the U.S. Constitution during her annual address to the Alaska Legislature on March 18, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Murkowski embraces many of Trump’s goals, but questions his methods

Senator addresses flood concerns, federal firings, Medicaid worries in annual speech to Legislature.

A researcher points out fragments of elodea found in the upper stretches of Crescent Creek caught on tree branches and down logs. (Emily Heale/Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association)
Homer conservation district feels impacts of federal funding freeze

Programs related to invasive species, habitat and trails, native plants and agriculture have all been negatively impacted.

Cemre Akgul of Turkey, center left, and Flokarta Hoxha of Kosovo, center right, stand for a photo with members of their host family, Casady and Patrick Herding, at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Photo provided by Patrick Herding)
International students get the Alaska experience

Students to share their experiences visiting the Kenai Peninsula at a fundraiser dinner on Sunday.

Most Read