QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

173 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 173 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska at 15:49 UTC on 2021-07-30, 41 km deep.

· 41 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N
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
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
41 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1918 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. 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. 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 4.8 on 2021-07-29 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 143 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.9 171 km SW of Akhiok, Alaska · 6 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 148 km SSW of Akhiok, Alaska · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 169 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska · 10 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 188 km SSW of Akhiok, Alaska · 20 km SSE 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 55.6660, -155.8615. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 185 km SSW of Akhiok, Alaska
  2. 1.8 157 km SSW of Akhiok, Alaska
  3. 3.0 169 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska
  4. 1.6 south of Alaska
  5. 2.8 190 km SSW of Akhiok, Alaska
  6. 3.0 158 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  7. 1.9 144 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska
  8. 2.4 170 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  9. 2.6 166 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska
  10. 2.4 162 km SW of Akhiok, Alaska
  11. 2.5 152 km SW of Akhiok, Alaska
  12. 3.3 150 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska
  13. 2.0 154 km ESE of Chignik, Alaska
  14. 2.6 182 km SE of Chignik, Alaska
  15. 2.4 194 km SE of Chignik, 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.