Medical Definition of leach. 1  1: to subject to the action of percolating liquid (as water) in order to separate the soluble components. 2  2: to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid. 3  intransitive verb.
The Pacific Plate is moving northwestwardly under the North American Plate at a rate of approximately 2.5 inches per year, resulting in many fault lines. Earthquakes are very common and there are an average of 50-100 earthquakes throughout Alaska--daily! In fact, Alaska has more earthquakes per year than all other U.S. states combined! The picture above, taken in Portage, Alaska near Anchorage, is one of the many remnants of the famous 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake. The magnitude 9.2 quake which shook South-Central Alaska on March 27, 1964 at 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, lasted for over four minutes and was felt around the world.
Alaska is one of the world's most seismically active areas. 11% of the world's earthquakes occur in Alaska, and three of the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded in world history were in Alaska. The only reason that the total death toll for the Good Friday Earthquake didn't even come close to the large December 26, 2004 Asia 9.0 earthquake is because Alaska is so sparsely populated. Alaska's population has grown greatly since 1964, so if the same quake was to happen again, the death toll would easily be much higher.