QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Eielson Air Force Base, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Eielson Air Force Base in the 24 hours to 5:55 pm AKST (02:55 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 6 km (4 mi) SE, at 4:08 pm AKST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Eielson Air Force Base

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Eielson Air Force Base, AK, at 12:01 pm AKST on 21 February 2026 (21:01 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ESE of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

12:01 pm AKST, Feb 21, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Eielson Air Force Base Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 23 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
12:01 pm AKST on 21 February 2026 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Eielson Air Force Base, AK · earthquakes near Eielson Air Force Base
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 23 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Atsaksovluk fault, under 1 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 247 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 Eielson Air Force Base, 4 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: Salcha, North Pole.

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 5.3 on 2024-01-19 — about 500,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 Central Alaska · 8 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 39 km SW of Salcha, Alaska · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 33 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 30 km WNW 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 64.6430, -146.9820. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.0 1 km WNW of North Pole, Alaska
  2. 1.8 6 km S of Salcha, Alaska
  3. 1.5 8 km NW of Harding-Birch Lakes, Alaska
  4. 1.5 8 km ENE of Badger, Alaska
  5. 1.3 17 km NE of Pleasant Valley, Alaska
  6. 0.9 8 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  7. 1.3 6 km E of Fox, Alaska
  8. 1.5 23 km WSW of Salcha, Alaska
  9. 1.4 11 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  10. 1.5 4 km NNE of Two Rivers, Alaska
  11. 1.5 2 km SE of Salcha, Alaska
  12. 1.6 5 km SSW of Salcha, Alaska
  13. 1.5 3 km ESE of Badger, Alaska
  14. 2.4 7 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  15. 1.5 6 km ESE of Eielson Air Force Base, 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.