High magnitude earthquake in Alaska prompts tsunami warning Monday

Alaska was struck with a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Monday, which prompted a tsunami warning across a nearly one thousand-mile stretch of the state's southern coast. 

The warning lifted Monday night as residents of Sand Point, a city of fewer than 1,000 people off the Alaska Peninsula, breathed a sigh of relief.

By late afternoon Monday, waves in vulnerable areas were less than 2 feet, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center. 

U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso told the Associated Press that the reason so many high-magnitude quakes take place in the region is because "this is an area where the Pacific Plate is subducting underneath the North American Plate. And because of that, the Pacific Plate actually goes underneath the North American Plate, where it melts."