QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Kalifornsky, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Kalifornsky in the 24 hours to 9:38 am AKST (18:38 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 31 km (20 mi) SE, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kalifornsky

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) south-southeast of Kalifornsky, AK, at 1:22 am AKST on 31 December 2023 (10:22 UTC), 59 km deep.

USGS: 20 km N of Fox River, Alaska

1:22 am AKST, Dec 31, 2023 · · 59 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 84 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
1:22 am AKST on 31 December 2023 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) south-southeast of Kalifornsky, AK · earthquakes near Kalifornsky
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
59 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 84 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 986 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Kalifornsky, 46 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 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.7 on 2019-07-03 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.0 31 km S of Funny River, Alaska · 26 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska · 27 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 7 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 7 km SE of Fritz Creek, Alaska · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 17 km WNW of Clam Gulch, Alaska · 50 km WNW 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 60.0417, -150.9438. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 84 km (52 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 5 km SSW of Soldotna, Alaska
  2. 1.5 6 km SSE of Kasilof, Alaska
  3. 1.6 7 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska
  4. 2.0 16 km SE of Clam Gulch, Alaska
  5. 1.8 34 km SE of Kasilof, Alaska
  6. 1.6 11 km WSW of Fox River, Alaska
  7. 2.1 39 km SSE of Funny River, Alaska
  8. 1.6 15 km E of Kasilof, Alaska
  9. 1.5 18 km SSE of Soldotna, Alaska
  10. 1.6 15 km SE of Soldotna, Alaska
  11. 1.5 12 km SE of Clam Gulch, Alaska
  12. 2.0 22 km SSW of Funny River, Alaska
  13. 1.5 1 km WNW of Cohoe, Alaska
  14. 1.5 10 km SE of Kasilof, Alaska
  15. 2.8 5 km SW of Cohoe, 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.