QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

42 km E of Clear, Alaska, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 42 km E of Clear, Alaska, Alaska, at 1:42 am AKDT on 23 June 2020 (09:42 UTC), 18 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 18 km deep · released about 1,900 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 98 kmDenali 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 3.2 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
13 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 98 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Northern Foothills thrust fault (Northern Foothills fold and thrust belt), 6 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 2267 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 43 km (27 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 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 7.1 Central Alaska · 25 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 23 km ENE of Ferry, Alaska · 25 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 35 km E of Healy, Alaska · 41 km S of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 39 km SW of Salcha, Alaska · 41 km E 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 64.2583, -148.3097. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 98 km (61 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough
Denali Borough, AK 105 km (66 mi) SW earthquakes near Denali 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. 1.8 18 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  2. 2.1 16 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  3. 1.8 17 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  4. 1.6 18 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  5. 1.9 14 km NE of Healy, Alaska
  6. 1.7 19 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  7. 1.6 8 km E of Healy, Alaska
  8. 2.8 21 km NE of Healy, Alaska
  9. 1.6 17 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  10. 1.7 20 km NE of Healy, Alaska
  11. 1.7 19 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  12. 1.6 12 km NE of Healy, Alaska
  13. 1.5 14 km NE of Healy, Alaska
  14. 1.9 16 km E of Ferry, Alaska
  15. 1.7 22 km ENE of Nenana, 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.