QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Seward, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Seward in the 24 hours to 5:33 am AKST (14:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 83 km (52 mi) W, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seward

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Seward, AK, at 10:02 am AKST on 23 January 2023 (19:02 UTC), 35 km deep.

USGS: 40 km ENE of Fox River, Alaska

10:02 am AKST, Jan 23, 2023 · · 35 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seward Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 119 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
10:02 am AKST on 23 January 2023 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Seward, AK · earthquakes near Seward
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
35 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 119 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1376 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 Seward, 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 31 km S of Funny River, Alaska · 32 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska · 42 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 38 km W 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 60.0002, -150.2984. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 119 km (74 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.9 33 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  2. 1.6 19 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  3. 1.9 42 km ENE of Fox River, Alaska
  4. 1.5 51 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  5. 1.6 35 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  6. 1.7 20 km S of Funny River, Alaska
  7. 2.4 15 km SE of Funny River, Alaska
  8. 1.6 19 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  9. 2.2 52 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  10. 1.9 32 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  11. 2.6 33 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  12. 2.1 14 km SE of Funny River, Alaska
  13. 1.5 24 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  14. 1.7 38 km SSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  15. 1.6 25 km S 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.