ice quake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Valdez, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Valdez in the 24 hours to 4:59 am AKST (13:59 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 85 km (53 mi) NNW, at 11:11 am AKDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 54 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Valdez
No: USGS classifies this as a ice quake, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 ice quake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) west of Valdez, AK, at 8:47 am AKST on 29 January 2025 (17:47 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 30 km W of Valdez, Alaska
- When
- 8:47 am AKST on 29 January 2025 ()
- Where
- 31 km (19 mi) west of Valdez, AK · earthquakes near Valdez
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Chugach Census Area, 85 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 628 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Valdez, AK
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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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Valdez, 31 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.
USGS catalogues this as ice quake, not an earthquake.
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 2022-07-09 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 9.2 The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska Earthquake · 37 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.6 57 km ENE of Whittier, Alaska · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.6 37 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 25 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.4 37 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska · 44 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.4 46 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska · 38 km SW 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 61.1699, -146.9165. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chugach Census Area, AK | 85 km (53 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Chugach Census Area |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.9 33 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 2.2 33 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 23 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.7 49 km S of Nelchina, Alaska
- 1.5 36 km SE of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.7 50 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska
- 1.7 11 km N of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.5 30 km W of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.9 39 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 32 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.6 34 km NW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.8 16 km NNE of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.5 25 km WNW of Tatitlek, Alaska
- 1.6 38 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska
- 1.5 33 km WNW of Valdez, 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.