QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 4:50 am AKST (13:50 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 250 km (155 mi) WSW, at 3:07 am AKDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 107 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fairbanks

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) south of Fairbanks, AK, at 12:41 am AKDT on 31 August 2023 (08:41 UTC), 9.7 km deep.

USGS: 30 km SW of North Pole, Alaska

12:41 am AKDT, Aug 31, 2023 · · 9.7 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fairbanks Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 61 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
12:41 am AKDT on 31 August 2023 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) south of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
9.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 61 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Atsaksovluk fault, 14 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1155 days ago

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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairbanks, 34 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 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 7,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 Central Alaska · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 39 km SW of Salcha, Alaska · 31 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 17 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 42 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, 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 64.5283, -147.7345. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 61 km (38 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough
Denali Borough, AK 146 km (91 mi) SW earthquakes near Denali Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 37 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  2. 3.2 2 km SE of Fox, Alaska
  3. 1.8 5 km ENE of Badger, Alaska
  4. 2.5 41 km SSW of North Pole, Alaska
  5. 1.7 20 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  6. 1.7 55 km ENE of Ferry, Alaska
  7. 1.8 19 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  8. 1.5 16 km SSW of Ester, Alaska
  9. 1.5 56 km E of Clear, Alaska
  10. 1.5 6 km NE of North Pole, Alaska
  11. 2.1 28 km SW of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
  12. 2.0 28 km W of Salcha, Alaska
  13. 1.6 0 km WSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  14. 2.6 5 km SSW of North Pole, Alaska
  15. 2.5 59 km SW of Salcha, 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.