QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Anchor Point, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Anchor Point in the 24 hours to 11:34 am AKST (20:34 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) northwest of Anchor Point, AK, at 5:22 am AKST on 12 January 2017 (14:22 UTC), 65 km deep.

USGS: 24 km W of Happy Valley, Alaska

5:22 am AKST, Jan 12, 2017 · · 65 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anchor Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 47 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
5:22 am AKST on 12 January 2017 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) northwest of Anchor Point, AK · earthquakes near Anchor Point
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
65 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 47 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1197 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Anchor Point, 27 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.7 on 2016-03-12 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.2 16 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 12 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 53 km W of Anchor Point, Alaska · 37 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 66 km ENE of Pedro Bay, Alaska · 48 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 23 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 8 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 63 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska · 46 km NW 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 59.9463, -152.1787. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 47 km (29 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. 2.5 49 km W of Anchor Point, Alaska
  2. 1.9 51 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  3. 1.6 54 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  4. 2.1 52 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  5. 2.2 34 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  6. 1.5 35 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  7. 1.9 22 km W of Ninilchik, Alaska
  8. 1.6 Southern Alaska
  9. 1.7 44 km NW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  10. 2.0 42 km WSW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  11. 1.6 25 km W of Happy Valley, Alaska
  12. 1.9 47 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  13. 1.8 31 km NW of Nanwalek, Alaska
  14. 1.5 Southern Alaska
  15. 2.7 18 km NNW 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.