Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Ester, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Ester in the 24 hours to 5:28 am AKST (14:28 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 6 km (4 mi) SSW, at 9:07 pm AKST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ester
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) south of Ester, AK, at 11:49 am AKDT on 27 August 2023 (19:49 UTC), 14 km deep.
USGS: 21 km S of Ester, Alaska
- When
- 11:49 am AKDT on 27 August 2023 ()
- Where
- 22 km (13 mi) south of Ester, AK · earthquakes near Ester
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, 76 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1161 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ester, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ester, 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Ester, 22 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: College, Fairbanks.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 2022-12-07 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 20 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 35 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 24 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 6 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km NNW of Badger, Alaska · 31 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 64.6557, -148.0889. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 76 km (47 mi) | E | earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough |
| Denali Borough, AK | 143 km (89 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Denali Borough |
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.
- 1.5 29 km NW of Ester, Alaska
- 1.9 2 km NNW of Farmers Loop, Alaska
- 1.5 34 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.7 52 km E of Clear, Alaska
- 1.6 1 km W of Farmers Loop, Alaska
- 1.7 47 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.6 27 km E of Anderson, Alaska
- 1.7 4 km NNW of Badger, Alaska
- 1.7 2 km SSE of College, Alaska
- 1.9 26 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 2.1 45 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
- 1.6 4 km SSE of Fox, Alaska
- 2.5 24 km SSW of Ester, Alaska
- 2.2 43 km E of Clear, Alaska
- 1.5 32 km SSW of Ester, 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.