QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 8:30 pm AKST (05:30 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 250 km (155 mi) WSW, at 3:07 am AKDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 107 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fairbanks

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) south of Fairbanks, AK, at 6:14 pm AKST on 23 January 2026 (03:14 UTC), 2.7 km deep.

USGS: 36 km WSW of Salcha, Alaska

6:14 pm AKST, Jan 23, 2026 · · 2.7 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fairbanks Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 61 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
6:14 pm AKST on 23 January 2026 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) south of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
2.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 61 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Atsaksovluk fault, 2 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairbanks, 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 4.4 on 2022-12-07 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 7.1 Central Alaska · 46 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 39 km SW of Salcha, Alaska · 15 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 32 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 35 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 5 km NNW of Badger, Alaska · 49 km N 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 64.3960, -147.6070. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 61 km (38 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough
Denali Borough, AK 142 km (88 mi) WSW earthquakes near Denali 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. 1.5 12 km W of Salcha, Alaska
  2. 1.3 33 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
  3. 0.7 12 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  4. 0.9 7 km N of North Pole, Alaska
  5. 1.7 5 km NNW of North Pole, Alaska
  6. 1.1 9 km WNW of Salcha, Alaska
  7. 1.2 55 km SW of Harding-Birch Lakes, Alaska
  8. 1.0 1 km WNW of North Pole, Alaska
  9. 1.5 60 km ENE of Ferry, Alaska
  10. 2.1 11 km SW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  11. 1.5 8 km ENE of Badger, Alaska
  12. 1.0 7 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
  13. 1.5 23 km WSW of Salcha, Alaska
  14. 1.5 54 km ENE of Ferry, Alaska
  15. 1.5 13 km S of South Van Horn, 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.