QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Anchor Point, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Anchor Point in the 24 hours to 9:52 am AKST (18:52 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 69 km (43 mi) NE, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anchor Point

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) southwest of Anchor Point, AK, at 12:48 pm AKST on 22 December 2016 (21:48 UTC), 61 km deep.

USGS: 17 km SW of Anchor Point, Alaska

12:48 pm AKST, Dec 22, 2016 · · 61 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anchor Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 80 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
12:48 pm AKST on 22 December 2016 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) southwest of Anchor Point, AK · earthquakes near Anchor Point
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
61 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 80 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1197 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Anchor Point, 17 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Diamond Ridge, Homer.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-10-14 — about 1,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 25 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska · 23 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 16 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 37 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 53 km W of Anchor Point, Alaska · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 23 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 39 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 7 km SE of Fritz Creek, Alaska · 46 km E of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 59.6642, -152.0416. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 80 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.5 35 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  2. 1.9 12 km WSW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  3. 1.9 22 km W of Ninilchik, Alaska
  4. 2.0 42 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  5. 1.6 25 km W of Happy Valley, Alaska
  6. 1.8 31 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  7. 1.5 Southern Alaska
  8. 2.7 18 km NNW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  9. 1.9 34 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  10. 1.8 9 km WNW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  11. 1.9 9 km ESE of Ninilchik, Alaska
  12. 1.6 9 km NW of Happy Valley, Alaska
  13. 1.5 37 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  14. 1.6 31 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  15. 2.1 36 km W of Nanwalek, Alaska

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.