QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Anchorage, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Anchorage in the 24 hours to 6:09 pm AKST (03:09 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west of Anchorage, AK, at 1:40 pm AKST on 23 December 2019 (22:40 UTC), 53 km deep.

USGS: 17 km ENE of Beluga, Alaska

49 km (30 mi) W of Anchorage, AK

1:40 pm AKST, Dec 23, 2019 · · 53 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Anchorage Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 82 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
1:40 pm AKST on 23 December 2019 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west of Anchorage, AK · earthquakes near Anchorage
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
53 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 82 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Castle Mountain fault, 17 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2441 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 Anchorage, 49 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 4.5 on 2018-10-15 — about 500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 Southern Alaska · 21 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.8 4 km NE of Beluga, Alaska · 12 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Southern Alaska · 46 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 17 km NW of Beluga, Alaska · 29 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 61.2173, -150.8071. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 82 km (51 mi) E earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 125 km (78 mi) SW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK 135 km (84 mi) NNE earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 23 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
  2. 2.8 21 km NNE of Point Possession, Alaska
  3. 1.5 22 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
  4. 3.0 15 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska
  5. 3.4 10 km WNW of Beluga, Alaska
  6. 3.5 18 km SSW of Tyonek, Alaska
  7. 1.7 5 km WNW of Point Possession, Alaska
  8. 2.3 25 km NE of Point Possession, Alaska
  9. 1.8 12 km SW of Susitna, Alaska
  10. 2.5 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
  11. 2.7 15 km W of Point Possession, Alaska
  12. 1.6 10 km NNW of Point Possession, Alaska
  13. 1.7 14 km SE of Tyonek, Alaska
  14. 2.0 23 km W of Susitna, Alaska
  15. 1.6 13 km NW of Beluga, 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.