landslide · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
48 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
No: USGS classifies this as a landslide, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 landslide was recorded 48 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska, 88 km (55 mi) E of Anchorage, AK, at 3:57 am AKDT on 20 September 2024 (11:57 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
88 km (55 mi) E of Anchorage, AK
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 55 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 746 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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.
USGS catalogues this as landslide, not an earthquake.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- 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 4.2 on 2022-10-30 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 31 km SSW of Glacier View, Alaska · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.6 57 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 30 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.4 22 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 33 km S of this epicentre
- 6.4 46 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 46 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.3 27 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 30 km S 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 61.1546, -148.2668. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 55 km (34 mi) | W | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 134 km (83 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Chugach Census Area |
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.
- 2.2 30 km SSE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.6 54 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.6 34 km NNE of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.6 36 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 2.0 23 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.6 51 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska
- 2.2 25 km N of Whittier, Alaska
- 2.0 57 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.6 42 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.5 50 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.6 64 km NE of Whittier, Alaska
- 1.6 24 km SSE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.8 29 km SSE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.8 36 km SSW of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.5 44 km ENE of Whittier, 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.