The source mechanism of the Alaska earthquake of March 27, 1964
has been investigated by analyzing the Rayleigh wave recorded on the strain seismograph
at Kipapa Station, Hawaii. The parameters that give the best fit to the
observed data are: rupture length of 800 km, rupture velocity of 3 km/sec, and
direction of rupture line of S30oW. The results of this analysis compare favorably
with field data of elevation changes, with distribution of epicenters of aftershocks,
and with the area of generation of the tsunami as obtained from sea-wave refraction
diagrams
