QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Sterling, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 2:45 pm AKST (23:45 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Sterling, AK, at 6:50 am AKST on 11 November 2025 (15:50 UTC), 36 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 20 km NNE of Sterling, Alaska

69 km (43 mi) SSW of Anchorage, AK

6:50 am AKST, Nov 11, 2025 · · 36 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sterling Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anchorage Municipality 88 kmKenai Peninsula Borough 103 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
6:50 am AKST on 11 November 2025 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
36 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anchorage Municipality, 88 km NE
Status
Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 288 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Sterling, 20 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: Funny River.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 4.8 on 2022-07-12 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 10 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 6 km WNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 45 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 19 km SSE of Tyonek, Alaska · 35 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 19 km NNW of Nikiski, Alaska · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 43 km NE 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 60.6885, -150.5644. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anchorage Municipality, AK 88 km (55 mi) NE earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK 103 km (64 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kenai Peninsula Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 5 km ESE of Point Possession, Alaska
  2. 1.8 17 km ESE of Point Possession, Alaska
  3. 1.8 22 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
  4. 1.6 17 km NNE of Point Possession, Alaska
  5. 2.1 20 km NE of Nikiski, Alaska
  6. 1.9 2 km NW of Point Possession, Alaska
  7. 2.6 17 km SSW of Point Possession, Alaska
  8. 2.3 28 km WNW of Hope, Alaska
  9. 2.4 2 km NNW of Ridgeway, Alaska
  10. 2.0 10 km NW of Sterling, Alaska
  11. 1.9 6 km NE of Ridgeway, Alaska
  12. 1.9 25 km WNW of Hope, Alaska
  13. 1.9 20 km SW of Point Possession, Alaska
  14. 1.9 10 km NNE of Ridgeway, Alaska
  15. 1.6 19 km SSW of Anchorage, 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.