QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Eagle River, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Eagle River in the 24 hours to 1:50 am AKST (10:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 20 km (12 mi) NNW, at 6:49 am AKDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 485 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Eagle River

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Eagle River, AK, at 7:44 am AKDT on 19 May 2020 (15:44 UTC), 23 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NNE of Eagle River, Alaska

25 km (15 mi) NE of Anchorage, AK

7:44 am AKDT, May 19, 2020 · · 23 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Eagle River Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 24 kmMatanuska-Susitna Borough 102 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
7:44 am AKDT on 19 May 2020 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Eagle River, AK · earthquakes near Eagle River
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 24 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2360 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Eagle River, 4 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Elmendorf Air Force Base, Knik-Fairview, Anchorage, Wasilla, Gateway, Big Lake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 7.1 on 2018-11-30 — about 32,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.6 11 km NW of Big Lake, Alaska · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 2 km ENE of Eagle River, Alaska · 3 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 9 km E of Susitna, Alaska · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 50 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 3 km NNE of Houston, Alaska · 37 km NNW 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 61.3528, -149.5310. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 24 km (15 mi) SSE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK 102 km (63 mi) N earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna 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. 3.4 7 km S of Big Lake, Alaska
  2. 2.2 6 km SSE of Houston, Alaska
  3. 2.0 5 km NW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
  4. 2.0 2 km ESE of Big Lake, Alaska
  5. 2.4 4 km SW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
  6. 1.5 6 km NNW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
  7. 2.1 7 km WSW of Houston, Alaska
  8. 1.8 3 km WNW of Big Lake, Alaska
  9. 1.7 5 km SSE of Big Lake, Alaska
  10. 1.5 14 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska
  11. 1.8 9 km SSE of Houston, Alaska
  12. 1.8 4 km ESE of Big Lake, Alaska
  13. 3.0 15 km N of Meadow Lakes, Alaska
  14. 2.1 3 km SW of Knik, Alaska
  15. 2.1 5 km E of Big Lake, 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.