A powerful M6.3 earthquake struck near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA on March 12, 2016.
The strong quake hit off Atka at 6:07pm (UTC) at a depth of 13.9 miles (22 kilometers).
The Aleutian arc extends approximately 3,000 km from the Gulf of Alaska in the east to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the west.
It marks the region where the Pacific plate subducts into the mantle beneath the North America plate.
This subduction is responsible for the generation of the Aleutian Islands and the deep offshore Aleutian Trench.