Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mb
Earthquake near Anchorage, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Anchorage in the 24 hours to 10:54 pm AKST (07:54 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 39 km (24 mi) SSW, at 4:48 pm AKDT on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 98 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anchorage
This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) north-northeast of Anchorage, AK, at 1:26 am AKDT on 1 May 2022 (09:26 UTC), 37 km deep. 104 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: Southern Alaska
30 km (19 mi) NNE of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 1:26 am AKDT on 1 May 2022 ()
- Where
- 30 km (19 mi) north-northeast of Anchorage, AK · earthquakes near Anchorage
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mb)
- Depth
- 37 km below the surface
- Felt
- 104 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 43 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Castle Mountain fault, 15 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1587 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Anchorage, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Anchorage, 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 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 74 km (46 mi) from the epicentre. In Anchorage, 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: Knik-Fairview 10 km, intensity III · Big Lake 11 km, intensity III · Eagle River 21 km, intensity II · Tanaina 24 km, intensity II · Anchorage 30 km, intensity II · Willow 33 km, intensity II · Palmer 37 km, intensity II · Butte 40 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16× 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 7.1 on 2018-11-30 — about 89,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 23 km NE of Willow, Alaska · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 5.6 11 km NW of Big Lake, Alaska · 22 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.6 5 km N of Susitna, Alaska · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 2 km ENE of Eagle River, Alaska · 22 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 9 km E of Susitna, Alaska · 31 km WNW 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 61.4814, -149.7726. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 43 km (27 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 88 km (55 mi) | N | earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna 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.
- 3.0 6 km SW of Meadow Lakes, Alaska
- 2.5 13 km N of Meadow Lakes, Alaska
- 1.7 5 km WNW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 1.7 18 km NNW of Fishhook, Alaska
- 1.5 20 km WSW of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.7 5 km W of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 1.6 Southern Alaska
- 1.7 6 km SSW of Willow, Alaska
- 1.9 4 km NW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 2.1 4 km ESE of Big Lake, Alaska
- 1.5 12 km NNE of Willow, Alaska
- 1.6 13 km N of Houston, Alaska
- 3.4 3 km SW of Meadow Lakes, Alaska
- 1.6 16 km SW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 1.7 9 km NNE of Willow, 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.