Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.4ml
32 km WNW of Petersville, Alaska
Yes. A magnitude 1.4 earthquake was recorded 32 km WNW of Petersville, Alaska, at 8:38 am AKDT on 17 October 2026 (16:38 UTC), 94 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 94 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 103 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pass Creek fault, 21 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 25 hours ago
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. 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 3.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 250× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.4 about 3.8 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 5.0 on 2019-10-04 — about 250,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 Central Alaska · 16 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 72 km WNW of Petersville, Alaska · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 47 km NW of Skwentna, Alaska · 45 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 48 km N of Petersville, Alaska · 50 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.4 32 km W of Petersville, Alaska · 15 km S 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 62.6150, -151.3500. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK | 103 km (64 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
| Denali Borough, AK | 136 km (84 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Denali Borough |
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.
- 1.7 46 km NNW of Petersville, Alaska
- 2.3 40 km W of Petersville, Alaska
- 2.0 58 km NNW of Petersville, 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.