QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Ester, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Ester in the 24 hours to 8:07 am AKST (17:07 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 6 km (4 mi) SSW, at 9:07 pm AKST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ester

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) northwest of Ester, AK, at 10:17 am AKST on 2 January 2026 (19:17 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: 28 km E of Minto, Alaska

10:17 am AKST, Jan 2, 2026 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ester Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 119 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
10:17 am AKST on 2 January 2026 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) northwest of Ester, AK · earthquakes near Ester
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 119 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 158 days ago

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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Ester, 49 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.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. 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 4.2 on 2025-08-20 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.0 36 km E of Minto, Alaska · 8 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 14 km E of Minto, Alaska · 14 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 14 km E of Minto, Alaska · 14 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 65.1630, -148.7460. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 119 km (74 mi) ESE earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 26 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  2. 2.3 27 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  3. 2.1 23 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  4. 2.0 22 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  5. 1.7 33 km NNE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  6. 1.7 31 km NNE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  7. 1.5 13 km E of Minto, Alaska
  8. 2.1 18 km ESE of Livengood, Alaska
  9. 2.0 29 km ESE of Minto, Alaska
  10. 1.5 29 km ESE of Minto, Alaska
  11. 2.3 25 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  12. 1.5 30 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
  13. 1.5 20 km ENE of Minto, Alaska
  14. 2.1 21 km ENE of Minto, Alaska
  15. 1.7 27 km NE of Four Mile Road, 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.