Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Sterling, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 12:14 am AKST (09:14 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 37 km (23 mi) north of Sterling, AK, at 5:45 am AKDT on 14 October 2021 (13:45 UTC), 40 km deep.
USGS: 6 km SSW of Point Possession, Alaska
59 km (37 mi) SW of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 5:45 am AKDT on 14 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) north of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 40 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 85 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1803 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sterling, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Sterling, 37 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 4.5 on 2018-10-15 — about 32,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 Southern Alaska · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.8 4 km NE of Beluga, Alaska · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 30 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.7 6 km WNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 40 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 18 km W 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 60.8666, -150.7191. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 85 km (53 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 104 km (64 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 32 km SE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 21 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.7 26 km SW of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.5 23 km W of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.5 9 km SSW of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.6 29 km S of Susitna, Alaska
- 1.6 17 km NE of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.5 18 km WSW of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.5 20 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.8 6 km N of Ridgeway, Alaska
- 2.7 12 km NNW of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.8 12 km SSE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 15 km ENE of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.5 17 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska
- 1.7 9 km NNW 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.