QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near Anchorage, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Anchorage in the 24 hours to 1:43 am AKST (10:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 39 km (24 mi) SSW, at 4:48 pm AKDT on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 98 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anchorage

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) southeast of Anchorage, AK, at 8:41 am AKST on 11 December 2019 (17:41 UTC), 29 km deep. 33 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 10 km NNE of Sunrise, Alaska

39 km (24 mi) SE of Anchorage, AK

8:41 am AKST, Dec 11, 2019 · · 29 km deep · released about 1,900 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anchorage Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 22 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
8:41 am AKST on 11 December 2019 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) southeast of Anchorage, AK · earthquakes near Anchorage
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
29 km below the surface
Felt
33 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 22 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2445 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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Anchorage, 39 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.

Likely felt in: Girdwood 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× more

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 4.9 on 2018-11-30 — about 350 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 21 km N of Whittier, Alaska · 37 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 20 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 32 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 2 km ENE of Eagle River, Alaska · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 41 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 60.9763, -149.3698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 22 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 5 km SSE of Girdwood, Alaska
  2. 1.7 14 km SW of Hope, Alaska
  3. 1.6 8 km SSE of Girdwood, Alaska
  4. 2.3 19 km ESE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  5. 2.4 13 km NNW of Girdwood, Alaska
  6. 1.5 19 km N of Girdwood, Alaska
  7. 1.7 15 km SSE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  8. 1.5 19 km ESE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  9. 2.2 21 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska
  10. 2.1 12 km S of Sunrise, Alaska
  11. 2.2 11 km S of Hope, Alaska
  12. 1.5 11 km SW of Hope, Alaska
  13. 2.4 1 km SE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  14. 4.2 7 km SE of Girdwood, Alaska
  15. 1.9 5 km NNW of Sunrise, 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.