Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Bear Creek, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Bear Creek in the 24 hours to 9:19 am AKST (18:19 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
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Bear Creek, AK, at 12:41 pm AKDT on 28 October 2021 (20:41 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 12 km ESE of Bear Creek, Alaska
- When
- 12:41 pm AKDT on 28 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 12 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Bear Creek, AK · earthquakes near Bear Creek
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 117 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1795 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bear Creek, 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 Bear Creek, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Seward.
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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 14 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.3 37 km SSE of Lowell Point, Alaska · 41 km S of this epicentre
- 6.1 25 km WSW of Chenega, Alaska · 44 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.9 33 km SSE of Lowell Point, Alaska · 36 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NW of Chenega, Alaska · 46 km ENE 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 60.1208, -149.1936. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 117 km (73 mi) | N | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
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.
- 1.8 20 km WSW of Primrose, Alaska
- 2.1 18 km SSW of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.8 13 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.9 18 km SE of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 2.0 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.5 21 km SE of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 3.4 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.9 17 km SE of Primrose, Alaska
- 1.5 16 km ENE of Moose Pass, Alaska
- 1.7 18 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.6 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.6 33 km E of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.5 25 km ESE of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.6 36 km S of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.5 17 km ENE of Primrose, 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.