QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

Earthquake near Sterling, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 11:09 pm AKST (08:09 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (13 mi) NNE, at 9:11 pm AKST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Sterling

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) south-southeast of Sterling, AK, at 11:58 pm AKST on 21 February 2025 (08:58 UTC), 37 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 34 km NE of Fox River, Alaska

11:58 pm AKST, Feb 21, 2025 · · 37 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Sterling Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kenai Peninsula Borough 101 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
11:58 pm AKST on 21 February 2025 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) south-southeast of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
Magnitude
M 3.3 (ml)
Depth
37 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 101 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 556 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Sterling, 50 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 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× more

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 2019-01-09 — about 45 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 31 km S of Funny River, Alaska · 15 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska · 39 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 27 km WSW 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 60.1028, -150.5647. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 101 km (63 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough
Anchorage Municipality, AK 138 km (86 mi) NNE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 6 km SE of Funny River, Alaska
  2. 1.7 17 km ESE of Kasilof, Alaska
  3. 1.6 10 km S of Fox River, Alaska
  4. 2.2 27 km ESE of Clam Gulch, Alaska
  5. 1.7 16 km N of Fox River, Alaska
  6. 1.5 6 km WSW of Sterling, Alaska
  7. 1.6 21 km ESE of Kasilof, Alaska
  8. 2.0 16 km E of Fox River, Alaska
  9. 1.6 10 km SSW of Funny River, Alaska
  10. 2.2 21 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
  11. 1.8 34 km NNE of Fox River, Alaska
  12. 1.9 24 km E of Funny River, Alaska
  13. 1.9 17 km SE of Kasilof, Alaska
  14. 1.7 15 km ENE of Fox River, Alaska
  15. 1.5 15 km E of Funny River, 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.