QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

41 km E of Fox River, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 41 km E of Fox River, Alaska, at 9:07 am AKDT on 5 October 2020 (17:07 UTC), 51 km deep.

· 51 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

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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 2.0 (ml)
Depth
51 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 132 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2162 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. 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. 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

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. 6.2 43 km ESE of Halibut Cove, Alaska · 49 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska · 39 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 52 km S of Lowell Point, Alaska · 46 km ESE 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 59.7997, -150.2286. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 132 km (82 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 62 km ESE of Halibut Cove, Alaska
  2. 2.2 23 km SE of Fox River, Alaska
  3. 1.7 45 km W of Seward, Alaska
  4. 1.5 13 km E of Fox River, Alaska
  5. 2.3 38 km SE of Fox River, Alaska
  6. 1.5 42 km NE of Fox River, Alaska
  7. 2.0 63 km ESE of Halibut Cove, Alaska
  8. 1.6 40 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  9. 1.8 45 km ESE of Halibut Cove, Alaska
  10. 1.5 64 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  11. 1.5 43 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  12. 1.5 28 km NNE of Fox River, Alaska
  13. 1.6 53 km SSW of Lowell Point, Alaska
  14. 1.9 69 km SSW of Lowell Point, Alaska
  15. 1.9 36 km NE of Fox River, 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.