Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Sterling, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 6:53 am AKST (15:53 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (13 mi) NNE, at 9:11 pm AKST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Sterling
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) east of Sterling, AK, at 6:09 pm AKDT on 24 May 2021 (02:09 UTC), 41 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 15 km NNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
67 km (42 mi) S of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 6:09 pm AKDT on 24 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) east of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 41 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 72 km NNE
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1990 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sterling, AK
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Alerts are on for .
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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 Sterling, 45 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-02-15 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 24 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.2 19 km E of Point Possession, Alaska · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 16 km WNW of Hope, Alaska · 41 km N 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 60.6126, -149.9534. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 72 km (45 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 19 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
- 2.1 5 km ENE of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.5 14 km W of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.5 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 2.2 20 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.7 7 km SSW of Hope, Alaska
- 1.7 14 km ESE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 24 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.8 10 km NNE of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 2.6 22 km E of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.5 7 km SW of Hope, Alaska
- 3.4 27 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.5 6 km NNE of Hope, Alaska
- 1.6 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.7 14 km E of Point Possession, 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.