QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Big Lake, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Lake in the 24 hours to 10:24 am AKST (19:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 6 km (4 mi) NW, at 6:17 am AKST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Big Lake

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) west-southwest of Big Lake, AK, at 4:40 pm AKDT on 14 August 2022 (00:40 UTC), 65 km deep.

USGS: 24 km SW of Susitna, Alaska

54 km (33 mi) WNW of Anchorage, AK

4:40 pm AKDT, Aug 14, 2022 · · 65 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 86 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
4:40 pm AKDT on 14 August 2022 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) west-southwest of Big Lake, AK · earthquakes near Big Lake
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
65 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 86 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Castle Mountain fault, 1 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 1508 days ago

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 Big Lake, 49 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 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 5.2 on 2019-09-17 — about 63,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 27 km SE of Skwentna, Alaska · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.8 Southern Alaska · 36 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.8 4 km NE of Beluga, Alaska · 26 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Southern Alaska · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 17 km NW of Beluga, Alaska · 33 km WSW 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 61.3882, -150.8394. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 86 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK 120 km (75 mi) NE earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 139 km (86 mi) SW 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. 1.6 42 km W of Susitna, Alaska
  2. 3.3 6 km WNW of Point Possession, Alaska
  3. 1.5 30 km NNW of Beluga, Alaska
  4. 1.9 20 km SW of Susitna, Alaska
  5. 1.5 5 km WNW of Beluga, Alaska
  6. 1.7 Southern Alaska
  7. 1.5 23 km SSW of Susitna, Alaska
  8. 2.0 31 km NNW of Beluga, Alaska
  9. 2.2 Southern Alaska
  10. 1.5 23 km NW of Susitna, Alaska
  11. 2.4 26 km WSW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
  12. 1.6 10 km NE of Susitna, Alaska
  13. 1.8 12 km SE of Tyonek, Alaska
  14. 1.5 2 km SSW of Tyonek, Alaska
  15. 1.9 6 km SW of Susitna, 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.