Location:

Period:

23 Oct 2002 11:40:32 - 2 Nov 2002 16:44:23 (10 days 5 hours 3 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Buzzard Creek(65km)

Earthquakes:

183

11 swarms found nearby.

2002

S20021023.1(2.3km)

23 Oct

12 days 6 hours

727 earthquakes

S20021023.2(22.8km)

23 Oct

1 day 18 hours

37 earthquakes

S20021105.2(2.6km)

4 Nov

16 days 23 hours

418 earthquakes

S20021108.2(4.5km)

8 Nov

1 day 9 hours

133 earthquakes

S20021110.1(28.8km)

9 Nov

1 day 17 hours

53 earthquakes

S20021118.1(1.1km)

17 Nov

3 days 1 hours

69 earthquakes

S20021227.1(17.3km)

26 Dec

7 days 19 hours

98 earthquakes

2003

S20030307.1(14.0km)

6 Mar

26 days 8 hours

396 earthquakes

S20030403.1(25.8km)

2 Apr

23 days 4 hours

248 earthquakes

S20030714.1(29.4km)

13 Jul

20 days 18 hours

166 earthquakes

S20030807.1(25.3km)

7 Aug

6 days 18 hours

95 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm S20021024.1: Earthquake Activity Near McKinley Park, Alaska

Seismic swarm S20021024.1 was recorded in central Alaska, beginning at 11:40 on 23 October 2002 and concluding at 16:44 on 2 November 2002. The events were located 37 km east-southeast of McKinley Park. Over 245 hours and 3 minutes, a total of 183 earthquakes were detected.

The region lies within the tectonically active interior of Alaska, influenced by the Denali Fault system. This major strike-slip structure accommodates lateral motion between the Pacific and North American plates. Shallow crustal seismicity is common, with events typically occurring at depths of less than 30 km due to the local fault geometry and crustal composition.

Analysis of the first 100 events reveals predominantly low-magnitude activity. Magnitudes ranged from 0.8 to 2.9, with the majority between 1.0 and 1.7. Depths were shallow, concentrated between 2 km and 22 km, consistent with upper-crustal faulting. Temporal distribution showed clusters of events within the first 48 hours, followed by a gradual decline in frequency while maintaining similar magnitude and depth characteristics.

Notable early events included a magnitude 2.9 earthquake at 8 km depth shortly after initiation and several magnitude 2.5–2.6 events on subsequent days. The pattern suggests a diffuse release of strain rather than a single dominant rupture. No events exceeded magnitude 3.0 within the examined subset.

Historical records indicate this was the sole swarm documented in the area since 1 January 2000. The previous swarm in the immediate vicinity also occurred in 2002, highlighting the infrequent nature of swarm-type sequences relative to background seismicity in this portion of the Denali Fault zone.

The data provide insight into localized stress adjustments along secondary structures associated with the main fault trace. Continued monitoring of similar parameters could improve understanding of preparatory processes in strike-slip environments.

References SeismoSight internal swarm classification S20021024.1