Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Ester, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Ester in the 24 hours to 8:33 am AKST (17:33 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 6 km (4 mi) SSW, at 9:07 pm AKST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ester
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Ester, AK, at 2:20 am AKDT on 10 August 2020 (10:20 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 27 km WSW of Ester, Alaska
- When
- 2:20 am AKDT on 10 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Ester, AK · earthquakes near Ester
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, 97 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2269 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ester, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ester, AK. No account or email needed.
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. In Ester, 27 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 36 km E of Minto, Alaska · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 41 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 44 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 6 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 42 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 64.7340, -148.5262. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 97 km (60 mi) | E | earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| Denali Borough, AK | 138 km (86 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Denali Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 40 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.8 38 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 2.1 17 km ESE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.5 34 km E of Clear, Alaska, Alaska
- 1.6 22 km ENE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 2.5 31 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
- 2.2 41 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.5 22 km NNE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.6 31 km SE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.5 23 km WSW of Ester, Alaska
- 1.8 26 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.7 19 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 2.0 49 km ESE of Nenana, Alaska
- 1.9 35 km E of Minto, Alaska
- 1.8 48 km E of Anderson, 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
- 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.