Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.3ml
54 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 54 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska, at 12:27 pm AKDT on 16 June 2021 (20:27 UTC), 9.1 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 108 km W
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1949 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Valdez, AK
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 4.1 on 2017-06-22 — about 500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 9.2 The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska Earthquake · 45 km S of this epicentre
- 6.8 31 km SSW of Glacier View, Alaska · 36 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.6 57 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.6 37 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 32 km S of this epicentre
- 6.4 23 km S of Glacier View, Alaska · 37 km NNW 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 61.3155, -147.2829. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 108 km (67 mi) | W | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 109 km (68 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Chugach Census Area |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 157 km (98 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 48 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 20 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.7 59 km NE of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.6 47 km W of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 2.0 50 km NW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 25 km S of Eureka Roadhouse, Alaska
- 1.6 44 km NW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.8 44 km NW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.5 58 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.7 51 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska
- 2.0 44 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 2.5 31 km NW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 20 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.6 17 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska
- 2.0 31 km WNW of Valdez, 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.