QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.9ml

Earthquake near Fritz Creek, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Fritz Creek in the 24 hours to 10:18 am AKST (19:18 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 2:30 am AKST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 115 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fritz Creek

This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Fritz Creek, AK, at 2:46 am AKDT on 17 May 2025 (10:46 UTC), 42 km deep. 14 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 35 km SE of Fox River, Alaska

2:46 am AKDT, May 17, 2025 · · 42 km deep · released about 11 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Fritz Creek Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
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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
2:46 am AKDT on 17 May 2025 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Fritz Creek, AK · earthquakes near Fritz Creek
Magnitude
M 3.9 (ml)
Depth
42 km below the surface
Felt
14 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
Kenai Peninsula Borough, 129 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 476 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 79 km (49 mi) from the epicentre. In Fritz Creek, 45 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.

Likely felt in: Fritz Creek 45 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.9 about 11 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 22× 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 4.7 on 2022-12-12 — about 16 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.2 43 km ESE of Halibut Cove, Alaska · 27 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km SSE of Fox River, Alaska · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 13 km N of Fox River, Alaska · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 7 km SE of Fritz Creek, Alaska · 39 km W 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 59.6299, -150.5227. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 129 km (80 mi) NW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 45 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  2. 2.5 46 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  3. 2.5 47 km E of Fox River, Alaska
  4. 2.3 3 km W of Fox River, Alaska
  5. 2.2 32 km SE of Fox River, Alaska
  6. 2.0 52 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  7. 1.5 6 km SE of Fox River, Alaska
  8. 2.4 25 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  9. 2.1 30 km E of Fox River, Alaska
  10. 1.7 34 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  11. 2.0 9 km SSW of Fox River, Alaska
  12. 1.7 12 km S of Fox River, Alaska
  13. 2.6 11 km SSW of Fox River, Alaska
  14. 2.1 34 km ESE of Fox River, Alaska
  15. 2.1 45 km ESE of Fox 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.