What's the Most Earthquake-prone State in the U.S.?

earthquake-world-map-110316-02 — A recently created World Earthquake Intensity Map shows where people around the globe are most at risk from dangerous seismic activity. CREDIT: Benjamin Henning

Alaska rocks, much more than the rest of the United States.

The northernmost state, which happens to straddle the border of two tectonic plates, gets hit with a magnitude 7 earthquake almost every year, and a magnitude 8 or greater earthquake on average every 14 years.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that over a 29-year span from 1974 to 2003, the “Last Frontier” experienced 12,053 earthquakes, accounting for over half of the nation’s earthquakes that register at least a 3.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.

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