QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

146 km ESE of McCarthy, Alaska

Yes. A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 146 km ESE of McCarthy, Alaska at 18:34 UTC on 2026-02-26, 28 km deep.

· 28 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yakutat City and Borough 89 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Yakutat City and Borough, 89 km S
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. 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 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 5.7 on 2026-01-01 — about 250,000 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. 5.7 126 km NW of Yakutat, Alaska · 48 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 115 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 115 km NNW of Yakutat, Alaska · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 127 km SE of McCarthy, Alaska · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 145 km ESE of McCarthy, Alaska · 42 km NNE 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 60.8210, -140.5070. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yakutat City and Borough, AK 89 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Yakutat City and Borough

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.

  1. 2.0 160 km ESE of McCarthy, Alaska
  2. 2.1 159 km ESE of McCarthy, Alaska
  3. 2.1 107 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  4. 2.3 112 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  5. 1.8 107 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  6. 1.8 112 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  7. 1.9 111 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  8. 1.9 109 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  9. 1.9 114 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  10. 2.1 118 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  11. 2.1 113 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  12. 2.1 157 km ESE of McCarthy, Alaska
  13. 2.1 111 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  14. 2.1 108 km N of Yakutat, Alaska
  15. 2.0 115 km N of Yakutat, 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.