Great
Earthquake In Diverse Places
Strong 6.1 Earthquake strikes Alaska's Aleutian chain
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck on
Wednesday off the western end of Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain,
the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The quake occurred shortly after 9 a.m. local time about 21 miles
northwest of Attu, the farthest U.S.-owned island in the Aleutians
and the western-most point of the United States.
No tsunami warnings were issued in connection with the tremor.
At nearly 1,000 miles west of the Alaska mainland, Attu is
situated so far west in the Pacific relative to North America that
it lies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Attu, scene of the only land battle fought on U.S. territory
during World War Two, also was the site of a U.S. Coast Guard
station for decades, until the facility closed last year.
The island is currently uninhabited. Earthquakes of that magnitude
are relative common in the seismically active Aleutian chain, but
they pose little or no threat since they are so far from densely
populated areas.
(Reporting by Yereth Rosen; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by
Greg McCune)