Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Girdwood, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Girdwood in the 24 hours to 11:15 am AKST (20:15 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) north of Girdwood, AK, at 9:25 am AKST on 9 January 2022 (18:25 UTC), 16 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 20 km N of Girdwood, Alaska
41 km (26 mi) ESE of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 9:25 am AKST on 9 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 20 km (13 mi) north of Girdwood, AK · earthquakes near Girdwood
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 9 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1700 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Girdwood, 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 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Girdwood, 20 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Elmendorf Air Force Base.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.2 on 2020-06-18 — about 250 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 21 km N of Whittier, Alaska · 30 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 34 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 43 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 2 km ENE of Eagle River, Alaska · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 16 km WSW of Whittier, Alaska · 44 km SSE 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 61.1258, -149.1519. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 9 km (6 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.9 3 km N of Eagle River, Alaska
- 2.0 21 km NNW of Girdwood, Alaska
- 2.5 9 km NNW of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.8 5 km NW of Eagle River, Alaska
- 1.5 17 km NE of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.8 10 km SE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
- 1.6 7 km E of Eagle River, Alaska
- 1.5 4 km W of Sunrise, Alaska
- 1.9 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
- 1.5 21 km NNW of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.9 4 km ESE of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.9 19 km SE of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
- 1.5 15 km SSW of Knik River, Alaska
- 1.9 14 km SSW of Gateway, Alaska
- 1.5 8 km S of Girdwood, 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.