QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Valdez, AK

USGS: 43 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska

6:07 am AKDT, Sep 29, 2026 · · 2.8 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Chugach Census Area 115 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
6:07 am AKDT on 29 September 2026 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) NNW of Valdez, AK · earthquakes near Valdez
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
2.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Chugach Census Area, 115 km S
Status
Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) NNW of Valdez, AK, at 6:07 am AKDT on 29 September 2026 (14:07 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 4.3 on 2018-10-16 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 37 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska · 43 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 47 km SSE of Glacier View, Alaska · 39 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 48 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska · 32 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 45 km S of Glacier View, Alaska · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 49 km WNW of Valdez, Alaska · 36 km WSW 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 61.5050, -146.5970. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Chugach Census Area, AK 115 km (71 mi) S earthquakes near Chugach Census Area

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 49 km SSE of Eureka Roadhouse, Alaska
  2. 1.6 47 km N of Valdez, Alaska
  3. 1.3 45 km NNW of Valdez, 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 changedFromToWhen
location44 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska43 km NNW of Valdez, Alaska
longitude-146.6-146.6
latitude61.5161.51
depth2.72.8
magnitude1.82

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.