QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Haines, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Haines in the 24 hours to 3:02 am AKST (12:02 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 60 km (37 mi) NW, at 3:19 am AKDT on 8 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Haines

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) southwest of Haines, AK, at 2:36 am AKDT on 23 March 2023 (10:36 UTC), 5.4 km deep.

USGS: 36 km WSW of Mud Bay, Alaska

2:36 am AKDT, Mar 23, 2023 · · 5.4 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Haines Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Haines Borough 23 kmSkagway Municipality 69 kmHoonah-Angoon Census Area 69 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
2:36 am AKDT on 23 March 2023 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) southwest of Haines, AK · earthquakes near Haines
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
5.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Haines Borough, 23 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1267 days ago

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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Haines, 37 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 4.4 on 2021-07-08 — about 350 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 41 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 28 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 27 km WSW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 44 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 63 km SW of Covenant Life, Alaska · 44 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 23 km SSE of Mud Bay, Alaska · 42 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 66 km NNW of Elfin Cove, Alaska · 49 km SW 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 59.0271, -135.9596. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Haines Borough, AK 23 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Haines Borough
Skagway Municipality, AK 69 km (43 mi) NNE earthquakes near Skagway Municipality
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK 69 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near Hoonah-Angoon Census Area
Juneau City and Borough, AK 126 km (78 mi) SE earthquakes near Juneau City and Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 52 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  2. 1.6 54 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  3. 1.5 53 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  4. 1.5 49 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  5. 1.6 53 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  6. 1.7 51 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  7. 1.8 50 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  8. 1.8 39 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  9. 2.1 52 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  10. 2.0 49 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  11. 1.6 51 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  12. 3.1 Southeastern Alaska
  13. 2.9 49 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  14. 2.7 50 km SSW of Covenant Life, Alaska
  15. 1.5 52 km SSW of Covenant Life, 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.