At a magnitude 7.9, last week’s deep-sea earthquake was the most powerful to hit the Western Aleutians in 50 years.
The quake didn’t cause any structural damage -- but it was a reminder that life in the islands can change in an instant.
The first tsunami warning issued after last Monday’s earthquake didn’t include Unalaska. In fact, the quake’s epicenter was far away from the town – deep underwater, 600 miles across the chain.
But that didn’t stop residents from taking notice.
Wetlands in the Izembek NWR. (Kristine Sowl/USFWS)
The State of Alaska has tried to back up the village of King Cove on their quest to build a road through protected wilderness. Now, the state’s prepared to follow them into court.
If they do, Alaska's lawyers and biologists will be on hand to help with a case against federal officials. They're being sued for turning down a land trade in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
Chiidax at four months old, shortly after arriving in Boston last December. /Courtesy: New England Aquarium
Eight months ago, an abandoned Northern fur seal pup was found on on a doorstep in Sand Point.
Now, the pup has a new home in Boston -- and last week, he got a visit from a boy who helped named him.
Twelve-year-old Logan Thompson traveled from Sand Point all the way to the New England Aquarium, the Associated Press reports. Thompson was on the East Coast to see family.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is opening public comment on a plan to relax Steller sea lion protections and allow more commercial fishing in the western Aleutian Islands.
The eaglet gets a check-up at Bird TLC in Anchorage. /Courtesy: Bird TLC
A lost baby eagle from Unalaska is making a new start in Anchorage. The eaglet will get a second chance at life in the wild.
Bald eagles are everywhere in Unalaska -- but it’s not often you see a fuzzy little eaglet sitting on the side of the road.
That’s exactly what happened on Sunday, when a police officer found an eaglet on Captain's Bay Road. It’s in an industrial part of town, and the eaglet was in the way of passing cars.
The earthquake, shown by the red icon, in the center of the advisory area, shown in yellow, around 4 p.m. Monday. /Image via NOAA
Update, 4 p.m. Monday: The tsunami advisory in Unalaska has ended, after a powerful underwater earthquake in the Western Aleutians triggered tsunami alerts for parts of the Aleutian Islands Monday afternoon.
No damages were reported after the magnitude 8.0 quake, recorded just before 1 p.m. on Monday. It happened about 30 miles northwest of Amchitka, about 60 miles underwater.
The earthquake generated a tsunami warning from Attu to Nikolski and in the Pribilof Islands for about two hours Monday. It was then downgraded to an advisory. Unalaska was also under an advisory for part of Monday afternoon.
Pavlof Volcano's eruption as seen from Cold Bay on June 2nd, 2014. /Credit: Robert Stacy
In the past few months, Alaska’s seen a flurry of volcanic eruptions and sizeable earthquakes.
It’s disrupted life in the Aleutian Islands and the far western Brooks Range -- and it’s got scientists wondering how all the activity might be connected.
Right now, five volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands are on alert. That's the most at once in the Alaska Volcano Observatory's 26-year history.
A new bridge that's about to be installed at Summer Bay was designed with wildlife in mind.
But as salmon migration draws closer, residents and regulators are scrutinizing the project to make sure it doesn't cause more harm than good.
After 33 years, the wooden bridge that crosses Summer Bay Creek has seen better days. But it's always contained materials that were potentially harmful to fish.
"There’s 20 creosote timbers that will be removed," says public works director Tom Cohenour. "The new bridge will have three pilings on each side that will be out of the water."
