ice quake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Bear Creek, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Bear Creek in the 24 hours to 8:12 am AKST (17:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 85 km (53 mi) W, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bear Creek
No: USGS classifies this as a ice quake, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 ice quake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Bear Creek, AK, at 5:30 am AKDT on 1 August 2021 (13:30 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 33 km ENE of Primrose, Alaska
- When
- 5:30 am AKDT on 1 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Bear Creek, AK · earthquakes near Bear Creek
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 90 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1911 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bear Creek, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bear Creek, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Bear Creek, 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.
USGS catalogues this as ice quake, not an earthquake.
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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 48 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.1 25 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NW of Chenega, Alaska · 26 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 33 km ESE of Bear Creek, Alaska · 34 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 41 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 60.4070, -148.7426. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 90 km (56 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 40 km NW of Chenega, Alaska
- 3.0 22 km E of Crown Point, Alaska
- 1.5 16 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska
- 3.1 19 km E of Crown Point, Alaska
- 1.6 43 km NNW of Chenega, Alaska
- 1.8 32 km ESE of Primrose, Alaska
- 2.9 18 km SSE of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.9 27 km E of Bear Creek, Alaska
- 1.7 18 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska
- 1.8 24 km ESE of Whittier, Alaska
- 2.2 32 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska
- 1.9 23 km WSW of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.5 17 km ESE of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.7 20 km E of Crown Point, Alaska
- 1.8 7 km E of Whittier, 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.