QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Anchor Point, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Anchor Point in the 24 hours to 1:47 pm AKST (22:47 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 41 km (26 mi) west-southwest of Anchor Point, AK, at 3:36 pm AKST on 5 January 2017 (00:36 UTC), 71 km deep.

USGS: 40 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska

3:36 pm AKST, Jan 5, 2017 · · 71 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anchor Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 87 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
3:36 pm AKST on 5 January 2017 ()
Where
41 km (26 mi) west-southwest of Anchor Point, AK · earthquakes near Anchor Point
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
71 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 87 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, 41 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4.2 on 2016-12-23 — about 7,900 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 · 15 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 53 km W of Anchor Point, Alaska · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 Southern Alaska · 30 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 67 km SE of Pedro Bay, Alaska · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 6 km WNW of Nanwalek, Alaska · 35 km SE 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 59.5890, -152.4680. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 87 km (54 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

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

  1. 1.6 31 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  2. 2.1 36 km W of Nanwalek, Alaska
  3. 3.2 57 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  4. 1.9 62 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  5. 1.7 60 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  6. 2.1 56 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  7. 2.5 51 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  8. 1.9 47 km WNW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  9. 2.5 58 km WNW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  10. 1.6 55 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  11. 1.5 13 km NW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  12. 1.8 63 km E of Pedro Bay, Alaska
  13. 1.8 60 km W of Anchor Point, Alaska
  14. 1.8 44 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  15. 1.8 61 km W of Anchor Point, 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.