QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Kalifornsky, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Kalifornsky in the 24 hours to 1:48 pm AKST (22:48 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 31 km (20 mi) SE, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kalifornsky

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) southwest of Kalifornsky, AK, at 7:09 am AKST on 18 January 2021 (16:09 UTC), 67 km deep.

USGS: 15 km NNW of Ninilchik, Alaska

7:09 am AKST, Jan 18, 2021 · · 67 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 38 km
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
7:09 am AKST on 18 January 2021 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) southwest of Kalifornsky, AK · earthquakes near Kalifornsky
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
67 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 38 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2057 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Kalifornsky, 36 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 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 5.3 on 2017-05-07 — about 16,000 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. 6.2 16 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 25 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 23 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 29 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 13 km NW of Happy Valley, Alaska · 21 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 39 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska · 35 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 60.1840, -151.7331. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 38 km (24 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

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. 1.6 23 km W of Happy Valley, Alaska
  2. 1.5 21 km WNW of Happy Valley, Alaska
  3. 1.7 38 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  4. 1.7 9 km NW of Happy Valley, Alaska
  5. 1.9 36 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  6. 1.8 26 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  7. 1.8 Southern Alaska
  8. 1.5 13 km W of Salamatof, Alaska
  9. 2.8 40 km NW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  10. 2.1 23 km WNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  11. 1.5 30 km NW of Ninilchik, Alaska
  12. 1.5 29 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  13. 1.6 8 km W of Happy Valley, Alaska
  14. 1.8 26 km WNW of Anchor Point, Alaska
  15. 1.8 16 km ESE of Ninilchik, 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.