Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Sterling, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 3:32 am AKST (12:32 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Sterling, AK, at 5:15 am AKST on 10 December 2021 (14:15 UTC), 57 km deep.
USGS: 34 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- When
- 5:15 am AKST on 10 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 57 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 115 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1769 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sterling, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sterling, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Sterling, 48 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 41 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 31 km S of Funny River, Alaska · 28 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 60.2319, -150.1596. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 115 km (72 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 120 km (75 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 27 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.5 15 km NE of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.5 32 km WSW of Lowell Point, Alaska
- 1.7 16 km S of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.7 21 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.5 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.6 21 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 2.1 4 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.5 4 km E of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.5 13 km NNE of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.5 30 km E of Fox River, Alaska
- 1.5 10 km SE of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.6 31 km SW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.5 25 km E of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.5 38 km NNE of Fox River, 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.