QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

33 km W of Karluk, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 33 km W of Karluk, Alaska at 22:16 UTC on 2018-03-16, 7.2 km deep.

· 7.2 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kodiak Island Borough 67 kmLake and Peninsula Borough 105 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
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kodiak Island Borough, 67 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1189 days ago

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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 5.0 on 2017-04-27 — about 180,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 4 km ENE of Karluk, Alaska · 37 km E of this epicentre
  2. 7.0 26 km SSE of Karluk, Alaska · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km SW of Karluk, Alaska · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 23 km SSE of Karluk, Alaska · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 50 km WNW of Akhiok, Alaska · 43 km S 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 57.5380, -155.0072. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kodiak Island Borough, AK 67 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kodiak Island Borough
Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK 105 km (65 mi) NW earthquakes near Lake and Peninsula Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 73 km WSW of Karluk, Alaska
  2. 1.6 45 km WSW of Karluk, Alaska
  3. 1.7 41 km NW of Karluk, Alaska
  4. 1.5 68 km WNW of Akhiok, Alaska
  5. 2.0 19 km NW of Karluk, Alaska
  6. 1.5 51 km NNW of Karluk, Alaska
  7. 1.5 56 km W of Karluk, Alaska
  8. 1.9 12 km NW of Karluk, Alaska
  9. 2.1 45 km NW of Karluk, Alaska
  10. 1.9 57 km W of Karluk, Alaska
  11. 1.6 15 km W of Karluk, Alaska
  12. 2.7 37 km SW of Karluk, Alaska
  13. 1.8 55 km SW of Karluk, Alaska
  14. 1.9 61 km W of Karluk, Alaska
  15. 1.9 15 km NW of Karluk, 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.