Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Sterling, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 1:25 am AKST (10:25 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) north-northeast of Sterling, AK, at 7:46 am AKDT on 25 March 2022 (15:46 UTC), 15 km deep.
USGS: 13 km ESE of Point Possession, Alaska
51 km (32 mi) SW of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 7:46 am AKDT on 25 March 2022 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) north-northeast of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 74 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1653 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Sterling, 39 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 4,000 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 · 43 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.8 4 km NE of Beluga, Alaska · 45 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 24 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 31 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 20 km ENE of Beluga, Alaska · 45 km NNW 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 60.8591, -150.4848. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 74 km (46 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK | 114 km (71 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
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 17 km WSW of Point Possession, Alaska
- 2.7 16 km NNW of Sterling, Alaska
- 1.5 22 km E of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.8 3 km NW of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.6 14 km ESE of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.9 15 km S of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.5 20 km WSW of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.5 20 km NNE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.9 25 km W of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.6 5 km SE of Funny River, Alaska
- 1.5 28 km WSW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 2.0 28 km ENE of Beluga, Alaska
- 1.6 16 km SW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 2.1 14 km ENE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.6 27 km NW of Cooper Landing, 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.