On April 1, 1946, at 12:29 [local time] a rather strong magnitude 8.6 earthquake occurred with source to the south of Unimak Island, causing one of the most destructive tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean.

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurred in the southern Kurils and on northern Hokkaido on Tuesday, October 5, 1994, (October 4 at 13:23 GMT). It was a sudden event, without any short- term precursors or foreshocks. The earthquake epicenter was located 80 km east southeast of Shikotan Island. At Kuzhno-Kurilsk, Kunsashir Island, tsunami heights ranged from 2.5-3.0 m. In the older part of town (fronted by a gentle beach) all houses were damaged by the wave that penetrated 200-500 m inland.

The Prince William Sound magnitude 9.2 Mw earthquake on March 28, 1964 at 03:36 GMT (March 27 at 5:36 pm local time), was the largest U.S. earthquake ever recorded and the second largest recorded worldwide. The earthquake was felt over a large area of Alaska and in parts of western Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada. The area of the damage zone and the duration of the quake (3 to 4 minutes) were extraordinary. The earthquake caused 15 deaths and approximately $284 million in property loss. The ensuing tsunami caused 124 deaths (106 in Alaska, 13 in California and 5 in Oregon) and $116 million in damage. This set of slides shows geologic changes, damage to structures, transportation systems, and utilities and tsunami damage. It features the effects of four major landslides in Anchorage during the 1964 event.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred near Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz mountains. Movement occurred along a 40-km segment of the San Andreas fault from southwest of Los Gatos to north of San Juan Bautista.

The hydrologic system, which includes all possible paths of motion of Earth's near-surface fluids including air and water, is largely responsible for the variety of landforms found on the continents. Heat from the sun evaporates water from oceans, lakes, and streams. Although most of the water returns directly as precipitation to the oceans, some of the water is recipitated over land as rain or snow. If it is precipitated over land, it then begins its journey back to the sea as "runoff." The relentless action of surface runoff, streams, and rivers, glaciers, and waves sculpts the rock into intriguing and bizarre shapes. This set of slides includes examples of wave erosion, wind and water erosion, valley shapes, and glacial rosion. The views are often dramatic. Many were taken at U.S. National Parks and Monuments.

The magnitude 6.5 earthquake killed 7 and caused 12.5 million in property damage.

At 4:31 am local time (12:31 GMT) on Monday, January 17, 1994, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake twenty miles west northwest of downtown Los Angeles awoke nearly everyone in southern California. Damage was most extensive in the San Fernando Valley, the Simi Valley, and in the northern part of the Los Angeles Basin. It took 57 lives and caused $10 billion in property damage. This set depicts the damage in Northridge the epicentral area.

Two earthquakes occurred in the morning on Hawaii Island. The first earthquake (3 hours 36 minutes local time, 5.1 Ms, epicenter near the Kilauea crater) awakened the entire population of the island. The second earthquake (4 hours 48 minutes local time, 7.2 Ms, off the southeast coast) caused damage (IX) at Hilo and damage (VIII) at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In many places houses were severely damaged, roads were breached and became unusable due to landslides; electric power lines were broken. Maximum subsidence 3.5 meters along the southeast coast. Maximum width of ground cracks 1 meter in the park. There was a brief eruption of the Kilauea Volcano. The second earthquake generated a locally damaging submarine landslide tsunami that was recorded at tide gauge stations in Alaska, California, Galapagos Islands, Peru, and Chile.

This magnitude 6.2 earthquake caused $30 million in property damage in northern California. The epicenter of the quake was located near Mount Hamilton in the Diablo Range of the California Coast Ranges. The earthquake was felt over an area of 120,000 square kilometers in California and western Nevada.

Epicenter: 34.0 degrees N, 118.1 degrees W. Magnitude: 5.9. Damage: $358 million. Eight deaths. The fault which ruptured was located about 11 kilometers below the surface, and 20 kilometers east of downtown Los Angeles. The fault was an extension of the previously identified Whittier Fault. Severe damage was confined mainly to communities of Los Angeles and near the epicenter.