Deformation of the 2002 Denali Fault Earthquakes, mapped by Radarsat‐1 interferometry

The magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck central Alaska on 3 November 2002 was the largest strike‐slip earthquake in North America for more than 150 years. The earthquake ruptured about 340 km of the Denali Fault system with observed right‐lateral offsets of up to 9 m [ Eberhart‐Phillips et al. , 2003] (Figure l). The rupture initiated with slip on a previously unknown thrust fault, the 40‐km‐long Susitna Glacier Fault. The rupture propagated eastward for about 220 km along the right‐lateral Denali Fault where right‐lateral slip averaged ˜5 m, before stepping southeastward onto the Totschunda Fault for about 70 km, with offsets as large as 2 m. The 3 November earthquake was preceded by a magnitude 6.7 shock on 23 October—the Nenana Mountain Earthquake—which was located about 25 km to the west of the 3 November earthquake.