Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Palmer, AK
No earthquake was likely felt in Palmer in the 24 hours to 7:23 am AKST (16:23 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 114 km (71 mi) ENE, at 11:11 am AKDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 54 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Palmer
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Palmer, AK, at 1:48 pm AKDT on 26 September 2026 (21:48 UTC), 24 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 11 km ESE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- When
- 1:48 pm AKDT on 26 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Palmer, AK · earthquakes near Palmer
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 85 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Castle Mountain fault, 11 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 48 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Palmer, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Palmer, 49 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 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- 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 4.6 on 2018-01-27 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 31 km SSW of Glacier View, Alaska · 36 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.4 23 km S of Glacier View, Alaska · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.9 15 km N of Glacier View, Alaska · 35 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 14 km NNE of Fishhook, Alaska · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.2 48 km S of Glacier View, Alaska · 49 km SSE 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 61.7670, -148.2570. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 85 km (53 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
| Anchorage Municipality, AK | 86 km (53 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Anchorage Municipality |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.4 18 km N of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.1 15 km N of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.6 20 km NNW of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.6 24 km ESE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.1 23 km SE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.7 32 km SE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 2.0 19 km WSW of Glacier View, Alaska
- 2.4 20 km N of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska
- 1.7 37 km N of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska
- 1.8 45 km S of Glacier View, Alaska
- 2.4 40 km SSE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.5 47 km ESE of Knik River, Alaska
- 2.4 37 km NNE of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.6 17 km N of Chickaloon, Alaska
- 1.1 20 km ESE of Chickaloon, 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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| reported intensity | not reported | 1 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 1 | |
| longitude | -148.25 | -148.26 | |
| latitude | 61.77 | 61.77 | |
| depth | 24.5 | 23.7 | |
| magnitude | 1.8 | 2.1 | |
| longitude | -148.27 | -148.25 | |
| latitude | 61.76 | 61.77 | |
| depth | 32.6 | 24.5 | |
| magnitude | 1.5 | 1.8 |
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.