The 1964 earthquake provided graphic evidence that sudden movement along the underlying thrust fault can go a long way toward reshaping our scenery. Very large strike-slip earthquakes have occurred in southeast Alaska. One of the more spectacular of these was the Lituya Bay earthquake of 1958, which toppled an entire mountainside into the bay, creating a splash that cleared timber and topsoil from a mountain ridge 1500 feet above sea level. Although they cannot be seen at the surface, Fairbanks lies very nearly on top of a local system of strike-slip faults extending from the southeast to the northwest. These probably arise from stresses in the Alaska Range and the Denali fault to the south being transmitted into the Interior.
Earthquakes can be frightening events.
But if it's of any comfort, it might pay to remember that without them and the crustal motions which they represent, the planet earth would be a featureless globe covered uniformly with water.