QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 3:28 am AKST (12:28 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) south of Fairbanks, AK, at 3:31 pm AKDT on 4 September 2026 (23:31 UTC), 18 km deep. 20 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 20 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska

3:31 pm AKDT, Sep 4, 2026 · · 18 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fairbanks Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 60 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
3:31 pm AKDT on 4 September 2026 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) south of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
20 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 60 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Atsaksovluk fault, 20 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 69 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairbanks, 24 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: Badger, North Pole, College, Ester.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 350 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 Central Alaska · 44 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 39 km SW of Salcha, Alaska · 41 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 15 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 7 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 3 km ESE of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 31 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 10 km SSW of Badger, Alaska · 11 km NE 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 64.6230, -147.7440. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 60 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star Borough
Denali Borough, AK 152 km (95 mi) SW earthquakes near Denali 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. 1.5 21 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
  2. 1.5 48 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  3. 1.4 5 km N of Badger, Alaska
  4. 1.5 11 km E of Fox, Alaska
  5. 1.5 13 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  6. 1.6 11 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  7. 1.7 10 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  8. 1.2 11 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  9. 1.6 10 km ENE of Fox, Alaska
  10. 1.4 10 km E of Fox, Alaska
  11. 1.4 10 km WSW of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
  12. 1.1 47 km SSW of South Van Horn, Alaska
  13. 1.5 41 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
  14. 1.4 44 km E of Clear, Alaska
  15. 1.7 14 km E of Fox, 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.