QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5mb

Earthquake near Girdwood, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Girdwood in the 24 hours to 2:07 am AKST (11:07 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) SE, at 10:01 am AKDT on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Girdwood

This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Girdwood, AK, at 4:02 am AKST on 9 March 2022 (13:02 UTC), 31 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 15 km S of Hope, Alaska

51 km (32 mi) SSE of Anchorage, AK

4:02 am AKST, Mar 9, 2022 · · 31 km deep · released about 2.7 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Girdwood Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 48 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
4:02 am AKST on 9 March 2022 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) southwest of Girdwood, AK · earthquakes near Girdwood
Magnitude
M 3.5 (mb)
Depth
31 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 48 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1644 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Girdwood, 30 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.

Likely felt in: Girdwood 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.6× more

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 4.2 on 2020-06-18 — about 11 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 24 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 33 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 16 km WSW of Whittier, Alaska · 34 km E 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 60.7778, -149.6125. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 48 km (30 mi) NNE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

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. 1.5 20 km NE of Moose Pass, Alaska
  2. 1.9 13 km S of Sunrise, Alaska
  3. 1.7 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
  4. 1.6 15 km NNW of Moose Pass, Alaska
  5. 1.6 14 km NNW of Hope, Alaska
  6. 1.6 17 km ENE of Moose Pass, Alaska
  7. 1.6 30 km SW of Hope, Alaska
  8. 1.6 23 km ESE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
  9. 3.1 22 km N of Girdwood, Alaska
  10. 1.9 17 km NW of Girdwood, Alaska
  11. 1.5 13 km NNE of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  12. 1.5 4 km NE of Girdwood, Alaska
  13. 2.0 11 km WNW of Girdwood, Alaska
  14. 1.5 23 km WNW of Hope, Alaska
  15. 1.7 22 km N of Moose Pass, 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.