QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Sitka, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Sitka in the 24 hours to 3:53 pm AKST (00:53 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 65 km (40 mi) W, at 12:45 pm AKST on 17 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 28 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sitka

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west of Sitka, AK, at 5:03 pm AKST on 14 November 2023 (02:03 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: Southeastern Alaska

5:03 pm AKST, Nov 14, 2023 · · 15 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sitka Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sitka City and Borough 51 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
5:03 pm AKST on 14 November 2023 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west of Sitka, AK · earthquakes near Sitka
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sitka City and Borough, 51 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Fairweather fault system, 2 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 1094 days ago

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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Sitka, 49 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.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. 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 4.2 on 2020-11-23 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 7.6 55 km SW of Sitka, Alaska · 40 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 57.0102, -136.1333. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sitka City and Borough, AK 51 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sitka City and Borough

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. -0.3 29 km W of Sitka, Alaska
  2. 0.2 27 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  3. 0.3 18 km W of Sitka, Alaska
  4. 0.9 38 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  5. 1.0 55 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  6. 0.3 18 km WSW of Sitka, Alaska
  7. 0.5 18 km W of Sitka, Alaska
  8. 2.3 53 km SSW of Sitka, Alaska
  9. 2.0 55 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  10. 2.1 60 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  11. 1.5 62 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  12. 1.9 58 km SW of Sitka, Alaska
  13. 2.1 57 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  14. 2.0 62 km WNW of Sitka, Alaska
  15. 1.9 48 km W of Sitka, 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.