Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Girdwood, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Girdwood in the 24 hours to 2:46 am AKST (11:46 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 43 km (26 mi) south of Girdwood, AK, at 1:23 am AKST on 4 January 2023 (10:23 UTC), 5.4 km deep.
USGS: 16 km ENE of Moose Pass, Alaska
85 km (53 mi) SSE of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 1:23 am AKST on 4 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 43 km (26 mi) south of Girdwood, AK · earthquakes near Girdwood
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 69 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1393 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Girdwood, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Girdwood, AK. No account or email needed.
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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Girdwood, 43 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 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- 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 4.4 on 2022-07-12 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.6 3 km SW of Bear Creek, Alaska · 50 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 29 km N of this epicentre
- 5.6 17 km W of Whittier, Alaska · 22 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 16 km WSW of Whittier, Alaska · 21 km NNE 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 60.5605, -149.1056. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 69 km (43 mi) | N | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 40 km WNW of Chenega, Alaska
- 1.6 7 km E of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.7 14 km S of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.7 9 km SSW of Girdwood, Alaska
- 2.0 10 km W of Moose Pass, Alaska
- 1.5 7 km W of Whittier, Alaska
- 2.0 20 km NNW of Moose Pass, Alaska
- 1.6 5 km SE of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.6 13 km WSW of Whittier, Alaska
- 2.1 18 km N of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.5 3 km SSE of Girdwood, Alaska
- 1.7 5 km ESE of Hope, Alaska
- 1.5 21 km N of Moose Pass, Alaska
- 1.6 16 km W of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.6 20 km S of Sunrise, 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.