Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Ester, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Ester in the 24 hours to 8:13 am AKST (17:13 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west of Ester, AK, at 7:27 pm AKDT on 14 July 2026 (03:27 UTC), 9.1 km deep.
USGS: 28 km W of Ester, Alaska
- When
- 7:27 pm AKDT on 14 July 2026 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) west of Ester, AK · earthquakes near Ester
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, 103 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 121 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ester, AK
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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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Ester, 29 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 4.2 on 2025-08-20 — about 7,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 36 km E of Minto, Alaska · 32 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 47 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 6 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 39 km E of this epicentre
- 5.2 14 km E of Minto, Alaska · 36 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km NNW of Badger, Alaska · 49 km E 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 64.8830, -148.6200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 103 km (64 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
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.6 28 km SSW of Ester, Alaska
- 1.3 13 km W of Ester, Alaska
- 1.4 27 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 2.0 13 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.4 33 km NE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.6 21 km NE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.4 31 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.8 7 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.0 21 km NNE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.4 21 km NE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.3 19 km ENE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
- 1.3 32 km E of Minto, Alaska
- 1.3 25 km ENE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.4 31 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
- 1.5 22 km ENE 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
- 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.