QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Girdwood, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Girdwood in the 24 hours to 3:40 am AKST (12:40 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) SE, at 10:01 am AKDT on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Girdwood

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 17 km (10 mi) north-northwest of Girdwood, AK, at 9:45 pm AKDT on 14 May 2017 (05:45 UTC), 20 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 16 km NNW of Girdwood, Alaska

37 km (23 mi) ESE of Anchorage, AK

9:45 pm AKDT, May 14, 2017 · · 20 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Girdwood Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 10 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
9:45 pm AKDT on 14 May 2017 ()
Where
17 km (10 mi) north-northwest of Girdwood, AK · earthquakes near Girdwood
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 10 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1194 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Girdwood, 17 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Elmendorf Air Force Base.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 2016-10-02 — about 180 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. 6.0 21 km N of Whittier, Alaska · 34 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 30 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 40 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 2 km ENE of Eagle River, Alaska · 31 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 46 km W 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 61.0815, -149.2758. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 10 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 19 km NNW of Moose Pass, Alaska
  2. 1.9 19 km ESE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  3. 1.5 5 km SE of Hope, Alaska
  4. 2.1 4 km N of Girdwood, Alaska
  5. 1.6 5 km WSW of Knik, Alaska
  6. 1.9 6 km NNE of Hope, Alaska
  7. 1.5 17 km ESE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  8. 1.6 11 km S of Knik River, Alaska
  9. 1.5 3 km SE of Hope, Alaska
  10. 1.6 3 km S of Eagle River, Alaska
  11. 1.6 9 km NNE of Hope, Alaska
  12. 1.5 3 km ENE of Knik, Alaska
  13. 1.7 8 km ENE of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
  14. 1.7 19 km SSE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  15. 1.5 2 km S of Hope, 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.