Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Willow, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Willow in the 24 hours to 9:47 am AKST (18:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 20 km (12 mi) S, at 6:17 am AKST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Willow
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) southwest of Willow, AK, at 2:31 am AKDT on 7 September 2025 (10:31 UTC), 31 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 11 km SW of Willow, Alaska
54 km (34 mi) NNW of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 2:31 am AKDT on 7 September 2025 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) southwest of Willow, AK · earthquakes near Willow
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 31 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 75 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Castle Mountain fault, 13 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 348 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Willow, AK
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Alerts are on for .
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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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Willow, 12 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Houston, Big Lake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 7.1 on 2018-11-30 — about 2,000,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 27 km SE of Skwentna, Alaska · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 23 km NE of Willow, Alaska · 35 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.6 11 km NW of Big Lake, Alaska · 12 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.6 5 km N of Susitna, Alaska · 18 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 9 km E of Susitna, Alaska · 17 km SSW 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 61.6818, -150.2125. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 75 km (46 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 75 km (47 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 3 km SSE of Big Lake, Alaska
- 1.8 11 km W of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 1.7 8 km NNW of Houston, Alaska
- 1.7 34 km E of Skwentna, Alaska
- 1.6 10 km SW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
- 1.7 2 km SE of Big Lake, Alaska
- 2.1 0 km NW of Willow, Alaska
- 2.4 7 km SSW of Big Lake, Alaska
- 1.5 19 km SSE of Susitna, Alaska
- 1.6 15 km W of Willow, Alaska
- 1.7 7 km SE of Houston, Alaska
- 2.1 7 km SW of Willow, Alaska
- 3.7 4 km WSW of Houston, Alaska
- 1.6 13 km NNE of Willow, Alaska
- 1.5 12 km N of Susitna, 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.