Geologists study the density of seismic activity in a region by comparing the number of earthquakes to the area of the region. the seismic activity density of a region is found using the formula:
seismic activity density = startfraction number of earthquakes over area of land affected endfraction. the state of california covers approximately 103,718 mi2, and has a seismic activity density of 0.0964 earthquakes per square mile. the state of alaska covers approximately 570,641 mi2, and has a seismic activity density of 0.0491.

using this data and rounding to the nearest whole number, alaska had more earthquakes than california for the year.

why would the seismic activity density of the year for alaska be smaller than for california if alaska had more earthquakes?