Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Nikiski, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Nikiski in the 24 hours to 12:37 pm AKST (21:37 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 58 km (36 mi) SSE, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Nikiski
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) northeast of Nikiski, AK, at 9:43 am AKDT on 14 September 2017 (17:43 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 9 km W of Point Possession, Alaska
62 km (38 mi) WSW of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 9:43 am AKDT on 14 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) northeast of Nikiski, AK · earthquakes near Nikiski
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 90 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1192 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Nikiski, AK
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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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Nikiski, 34 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- 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 4.1 on 2017-09-04 — about 5,600 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 · 24 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.8 4 km NE of Beluga, Alaska · 29 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 39 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.7 6 km WNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 37 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 10 km WSW 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 60.9198, -150.8642. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 90 km (56 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 100 km (62 mi) | SW | 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.
- 1.5 17 km N of Nikiski, Alaska
- 1.6 21 km NW of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.5 23 km SSE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 4 km NNE of Kenai, Alaska
- 1.9 11 km WSW of Tyonek, Alaska
- 1.5 6 km SW of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 24 km NE of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.6 19 km N of Nikiski, Alaska
- 1.5 22 km NW of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.5 19 km NNE of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.5 10 km NNW of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.5 21 km N of Nikiski, Alaska
- 1.7 8 km E of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.5 3 km WNW of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.6 13 km SE of Tyonek, 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.