QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Eagle River, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Eagle River in the 24 hours to 3:01 am AKST (12:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 20 km (12 mi) NNW, at 6:49 am AKDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 485 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Eagle River

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) east of Eagle River, AK, at 4:01 am AKST on 29 November 2020 (13:01 UTC), 30 km deep.

USGS: 13 km ESE of Knik River, Alaska

67 km (42 mi) ENE of Anchorage, AK

4:01 am AKST, Nov 29, 2020 · · 30 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 40 kmMatanuska-Susitna 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
4:01 am AKST on 29 November 2020 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) east of Eagle River, AK · earthquakes near Eagle River
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
30 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 40 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2165 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 Eagle River, 47 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Butte, Lazy Mountain.

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 4.6 on 2018-01-27 — about 45,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.0 21 km N of Whittier, Alaska · 47 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 2 km ENE of Eagle River, Alaska · 44 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 13 km ESE of Eagle River, Alaska · 35 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 48 km S of Glacier View, Alaska · 47 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 61.3980, -148.6975. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 40 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK 105 km (65 mi) NNW earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 Southern Alaska
  2. 1.5 35 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  3. 1.5 36 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  4. 1.7 11 km SSE of Chickaloon, Alaska
  5. 1.5 7 km SSE of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska
  6. 2.4 31 km ENE of Girdwood, Alaska
  7. 1.6 32 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  8. 1.6 20 km ENE of Girdwood, Alaska
  9. 2.3 34 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  10. 1.9 36 km NE of Girdwood, Alaska
  11. 1.9 32 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  12. 2.1 40 km SSE of Knik River, Alaska
  13. 1.5 35 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  14. 1.5 34 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
  15. 1.7 31 km SSE of Chickaloon, 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.