Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 in Photos

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.