3,000 tiny quakes reveal Alaska’s hidden Yakutat microplate edge
Thousands of tiny earthquakes line up in a 155-mile straight pattern beneath Alaska’s Denali Fault, revealing the edge of the Yakutat microplate being subducted beneath North America. The edge aligns with small volcanic cones and deep subsurface rock changes, suggesting it may focus seismic energy to the surface and influence large earthquakes and regional volcanism. Researchers installed new seismometers to locate the plate edge, a finding published in The Seismic Record.