Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
59 km SSW of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 59 km SSW of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska, at 5:39 am AKDT on 31 July 2020 (13:39 UTC), 147 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 147 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Aleutians East Borough, 46 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2283 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sand Point, AK
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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. 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 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 4.6 on 2018-05-04 — about 7,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 39 km SW of Sand Point, Alaska · 46 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.0 59 km ENE of King Cove, Alaska · 31 km S of this epicentre
- 5.0 36 km S of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska · 27 km NE 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 55.4811, -161.4036. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aleutians East Borough, AK | 46 km (28 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Aleutians East Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 25 km W of Sand Point, Alaska
- 1.5 56 km NNE of King Cove, Alaska
- 2.4 55 km NE of King Cove, Alaska
- 1.7 27 km WSW of Sand Point, Alaska
- 2.8 35 km SW of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
- 2.4 35 km NE of King Cove, Alaska
- 1.7 39 km NE of King Cove, Alaska
- 1.7 34 km ENE of King Cove, Alaska
- 1.7 28 km SW of Sand Point, Alaska
- 1.7 53 km SW of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
- 1.8 46 km WSW of Sand Point, Alaska
- 2.0 57 km NNE of King Cove, Alaska
- 1.5 42 km WNW of Sand Point, Alaska
- 1.6 18 km S of Nelson Lagoon, Alaska
- 1.9 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.