Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Valdez, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Valdez in the 24 hours to 12:21 pm AKST (21:21 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 85 km (53 mi) NNW, at 11:11 am AKDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 54 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Valdez
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) south of Valdez, AK, at 11:39 am AKDT on 10 July 2021 (19:39 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 19 km E of Tatitlek, Alaska
- When
- 11:39 am AKDT on 10 July 2021 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) south of Valdez, AK · earthquakes near Valdez
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Chugach Census Area, 46 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1865 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Valdez, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Valdez, AK. No account or email needed.
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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Valdez, 26 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 5,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.7 Prince William Sound, Alaska · 47 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Valdez, Alaska · 12 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.9 31 km NW of Cordova, Alaska · 20 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 21 km NNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 32 km WNW 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 60.8984, -146.3185. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 46 km (29 mi) | S | earthquakes near Chugach Census Area |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 27 km NW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 11 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 13 km NW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 2.1 15 km SSW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.5 8 km N of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 10 km SSE of Valdez, Alaska
- 2.4 8 km SSE of Valdez, Alaska
- 2.3 25 km S of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 2.3 27 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.7 29 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.6 16 km SSW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.5 29 km E of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.6 20 km ENE of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.8 29 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.6 19 km S of Tatitlek, 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.