A tsunami warning has been cancelled for Alaska's coast after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit in the Pacific Ocean, 1,600 kilometres west of Anchorage, at a depth of about 62km, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake on the Fox Islands stuck at 6:09pm local time. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre (WCATWC) issued a statement at 8:19pm local time (2:19pm AEST) saying the tsunami danger no longer existed along the US west coast states, Alaska, and British Columbia.
However, a tsunami wave measuring six-centimetres tall was recorded at Nikolski, a tiny Aleut village on the island of Umnak, and a 10-centimetre wave was observed at Adak, a spokeswoman for the WCATWC said.
The warning, which extended for roughly 1,300 kilometres - from Unimak Pass north-east of Dutch Harbour, westward to Amchitka Pass west of Adak Island - was cancelled after a little more than an hour.
The coast of the Alaska peninsula and the Alaska mainland were never considered to be threatened.The WCATWC had warned coastal residents to move to higher ground and away from harbours and inlets, including those sheltered directly from the sea.
"Earthquakes of this size magnitude are known to generate tsunamis," the centre said.Quakes of 7 to 8 magnitudes and higher are relatively common in the Aleutians, but are generally of little consequence because the island chain is so remote and sparsely populated."This is a very seismically active area," USGS geophysicist Randy Baldwin said.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said there was no tsunami threat for Australia.
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