Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Sterling, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 7:58 pm AKST (04:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (13 mi) NNE, at 9:11 pm AKST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Sterling
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) north of Sterling, AK, at 1:32 pm AKDT on 30 April 2017 (21:32 UTC), 26 km deep. 20 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km S of Point Possession, Alaska
60 km (38 mi) SW of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 1:32 pm AKDT on 30 April 2017 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) north of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 26 km below the surface
- Felt
- 20 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 85 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1194 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sterling, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sterling, AK. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Sterling, 34 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.
Likely felt in: Sterling 34 km, intensity II · Nikiski 36 km, intensity II · Soldotna 43 km, intensity II · Kenai 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× more
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 2016-11-21 — about 11 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 Southern Alaska · 36 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.8 4 km NE of Beluga, Alaska · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 27 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.7 6 km WNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 40 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 20 km WNW 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 60.8369, -150.7014. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 85 km (53 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 103 km (64 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 11 km W of Point Possession, Alaska
- 2.1 22 km E of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.9 10 km E of Nikiski, Alaska
- 1.9 5 km ENE of Nikiski, Alaska
- 2.1 6 km WNW of Tyonek, Alaska
- 1.6 11 km E of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.5 15 km WSW of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.5 8 km SSE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 12 km E of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.6 14 km WNW of Point Possession, Alaska
- 2.1 8 km S of Tyonek, Alaska
- 1.9 29 km ESE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.7 7 km ESE of Soldotna, Alaska
- 2.5 5 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska
- 2.2 2 km S of Beluga, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.