Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Sterling, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Sterling in the 24 hours to 11:20 am AKST (20:20 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) east-northeast of Sterling, AK, at 6:45 pm AKDT on 29 April 2026 (02:45 UTC), 8.3 km deep.
USGS: 23 km NNW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
60 km (37 mi) S of Anchorage, AK
- When
- 6:45 pm AKDT on 29 April 2026 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) east-northeast of Sterling, AK · earthquakes near Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Anchorage Municipality, 67 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 192 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sterling, AK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sterling, AK. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Sterling, 45 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4.5 on 2025-04-29 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.8 24 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska · 22 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 13 km S of Girdwood, Alaska · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 26 km SSW of Anchorage, Alaska · 37 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 19 km E of Point Possession, Alaska · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 16 km WNW of Hope, Alaska · 33 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 60.6830, -150.0010. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 67 km (42 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
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.
- 3.9 1 km WSW of Hope, Alaska
- 1.7 29 km ENE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 2.9 33 km ESE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.9 23 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 2.4 18 km SW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.8 21 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
- 3.4 23 km E of Point Possession, Alaska
- 1.6 10 km NE of Point Possession, Alaska
- 3.0 29 km SW of Hope, Alaska
- 1.5 19 km W of Hope, Alaska
- 1.8 12 km SW of Anchorage, Alaska
- 1.9 22 km WSW of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.9 13 km ENE of Sterling, Alaska
- 2.2 24 km NNE of Cooper Landing, Alaska
- 1.8 16 km WNW of Cooper Landing, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.