QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Sterling, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 7:52 am AKST (16:52 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (13 mi) NNE, at 9:11 pm AKST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Sterling

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) north-northeast of Sterling, AK, at 3:56 am AKDT on 30 March 2023 (11:56 UTC), 54 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNE of Sterling, Alaska

73 km (46 mi) SW of Anchorage, AK

3:56 am AKDT, Mar 30, 2023 · · 54 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sterling Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 94 kmKenai Peninsula Borough 95 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
3:56 am AKDT on 30 March 2023 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) north-northeast of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
54 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 94 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1316 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 Sterling, 17 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Funny River, Ridgeway, Soldotna.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 4.8 on 2022-07-12 — about 89,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 17 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 6 km WNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 38 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 19 km NNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 47 km NE 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 60.6861, -150.7025. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 94 km (58 mi) NE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 95 km (59 mi) WSW 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. 3.1 20 km SSE of Point Possession, Alaska
  2. 1.6 11 km WNW of Point Possession, Alaska
  3. 1.8 4 km E of Tyonek, Alaska
  4. 1.8 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
  5. 1.5 14 km S of Funny River, Alaska
  6. 1.5 20 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  7. 1.7 Southern Alaska
  8. 1.5 2 km WNW of Funny River, Alaska
  9. 1.5 15 km ESE of Kasilof, Alaska
  10. 1.6 17 km SSW of Point Possession, Alaska
  11. 2.4 4 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska
  12. 1.6 9 km NNE of Nikiski, Alaska
  13. 4.6 Southern Alaska
  14. 1.7 14 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska
  15. 1.7 13 km ESE of Beluga, 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.