--- description: On the 50th anniversary of the largest quake in North American history, LIFE features rare photos from the aftermath of the catastrophe. title: Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Rare Photos From an Epic Disaster image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d8401426cccf7d/698783e45f570fceccb15c6f/140319-alaska-earthquake-19.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Rare Photos From an Epic Disaster by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2014 8:31 PM CUT  Caption from LIFE. In downtown Anchorage, the buildings and the pavement dropped 20 feet, dividing Fourth Avenue into two levels and leaving a weird jumble of signs. Caption from LIFE. In downtown Anchorage, the buildings and the pavement dropped 20 feet, dividing Fourth Avenue into two levels and leaving a weird jumble of signs.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2014 8:31 PM CUT When the Great Alaska Earthquake convulsed the south-central region of that vast state on March 27, 1964, the energy released by the upheaval — the largest quake in recorded North American history — was, LIFE magazine reported, “400 times the total \[energy\] of all nuclear bombs ever exploded” until that time. The megathrust event unleashed a colossal 200,000 megatons of energy, destroying buildings and infrastructure in Anchorage and far beyond; raising the land as much as 30 feet in some places; and sparking a major underwater landslide in Prince William Sound, which killed scores of people when the resulting waves slammed into Port Valdez. When all was said and done, the 9.2-magnitude quake — which struck around 5:30 in the evening on Good Friday — and its many powerful aftershocks caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage; killed more than 130 people (including more than a dozen tsunami-related deaths in Oregon and California) and; in ways literal and figurative, forever altered the Alaskan landscape in places like Anchorage, Seward and Valdez. Here, on the 50th anniversary of the epic natural disaster, LIFE.com presents photos — many of them never published in LIFE — from the cataclysm’s aftermath. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Anchorage, Alaska, in the aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The earthquake split the Turnagain section of Anchorage with a criss-cross of deep fissures in the ground, heaving the smashed homes up at crazy angles. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alaskans pray after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Ben Henry, 10, sits on bowling-game table in Anchorage American Legion Hall as his sister Genevieve sleeps by pins. Everything in their house was destroyed. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  People receiving medical treatment after the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Unloading relief supplies after the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  After the March 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In downtown Anchorage, the buildings and the pavement dropped 20 feet, dividing Fourth Avenue into two levels and leaving a weird jumble of signs. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE Magazine—April 10, 1964 LIFE Magazine ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3746785/the-great-alaska-earthquake-of-1964-rare-photos-from-an-epic-disaster/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3746785/the-great-alaska-earthquake-of-1964-rare-photos-from-an-epic-disaster/"},"headline":"The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Rare Photos From an Epic Disaster","datePublished":"2014-03-26T20:31:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:02.463Z","description":"On the 50th anniversary of the largest quake in North American history, LIFE.com presents photos -- many of them never published in LIFE magazine -- from the disaster's aftermath.","url":"https://time.com/3746785/the-great-alaska-earthquake-of-1964-rare-photos-from-an-epic-disaster/","keywords":["Alaska","photography","LIFE Magazine","1964","Natural Disasters","Bill Ray"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d8401426cccf7d/698783e45f570fceccb15c6f/140319-alaska-earthquake-19.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d8401426cccf7d/698783e45f570fceccb15c6f/140319-alaska-earthquake-19.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alaska Earthquake 1964","caption":"In downtown Anchorage, the buildings and the pavement dropped 20 feet, dividing Fourth Avenue into two levels and leaving a weird jumble of signs.","creditText":"Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3746785/the-great-alaska-earthquake-of-1964-rare-photos-from-an-epic-disaster/","name":"The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Rare Photos From an Epic Disaster"}}]}] ```