QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Sand Point, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Sand Point in the 24 hours to 9:01 am AKST (18:01 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 99 km (61 mi) SE, at 10:44 pm AKDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sand Point

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) north-northwest of Sand Point, AK, at 5:07 pm AKDT on 16 July 2020 (01:07 UTC), 89 km deep.

USGS: 39 km NNW of Sand Point, Alaska

5:07 pm AKDT, Jul 16, 2020 · · 89 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sand Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aleutians East Borough 97 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
5:07 pm AKDT on 16 July 2020 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) north-northwest of Sand Point, AK · earthquakes near Sand Point
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
89 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aleutians East Borough, 97 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2293 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 Sand Point, 40 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 4.0 on 2020-01-09 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 36 km S of Nelson Lagoon, 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 55.6816, -160.6694. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aleutians East Borough, AK 97 km (60 mi) WSW earthquakes near Aleutians East Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 50 km E of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
  2. 2.0 11 km NE of Sand Point, Alaska
  3. 3.0 42 km S of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
  4. 1.5 14 km ESE of Sand Point, Alaska
  5. 2.8 29 km SE of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
  6. 2.9 42 km ESE of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
  7. 2.1 7 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska
  8. 2.0 9 km E of Sand Point, Alaska
  9. 1.7 6 km SSE of Sand Point, Alaska
  10. 2.6 25 km W of Sand Point, Alaska
  11. 2.0 24 km ENE of Sand Point, Alaska
  12. 3.2 29 km NNE of Sand Point, Alaska
  13. 1.8 41 km NNE of Sand Point, Alaska
  14. 2.0 18 km SW of Sand Point, Alaska
  15. 2.6 Alaska Peninsula

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.