QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Skagway, AK

USGS: 32 km ESE of Skagway, Alaska

6:14 am AKST, Jan 15, 2020 · · 11 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Skagway Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Skagway Municipality 39 kmHaines Borough 54 kmJuneau City and Borough 115 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
6:14 am AKST on 15 January 2020 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) ESE of Skagway, AK · earthquakes near Skagway
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Skagway Municipality, 39 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2440 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) ESE of Skagway, AK, at 6:14 am AKST on 15 January 2020 (15:14 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 59.3582, -134.7765. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Skagway Municipality, AK 39 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Skagway Municipality
Haines Borough, AK 54 km (33 mi) WSW earthquakes near Haines Borough
Juneau City and Borough, AK 115 km (71 mi) SSE earthquakes near Juneau City and Borough
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK 124 km (77 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hoonah-Angoon Census Area

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.5 26 km E of Mud Bay, Alaska
  2. 1.8 45 km SE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  3. 2.3 34 km E of Skagway, Alaska
  4. 3.3 48 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  5. 1.5 40 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  6. 1.8 52 km E of Mud Bay, Alaska
  7. 1.9 51 km E of Mud Bay, Alaska
  8. 1.8 37 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  9. 1.8 44 km ESE of Skagway, Alaska
  10. 2.0 50 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  11. 2.4 51 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  12. 4.2 51 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  13. 2.2 39 km ESE of Mud Bay, Alaska
  14. 1.7 36 km ESE of Skagway, Alaska
  15. 2.0 16 km SSE of Mud Bay, 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.