QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4ml

Earthquake near Fairbanks, AK

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairbanks in the 24 hours to 12:13 pm AKST (21:13 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) west of Fairbanks, AK, at 2:21 am AKST on 20 January 2025 (11:21 UTC), 20 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 33 km W of Ester, Alaska

2:21 am AKST, Jan 20, 2025 · · 20 km deep · released about 1.9 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Fairbanks Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fairbanks North Star Borough 108 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
2:21 am AKST on 20 January 2025 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) west of Fairbanks, AK · earthquakes near Fairbanks
Magnitude
M 3.4 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 108 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 595 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 54 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairbanks, 47 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.

Likely felt in: Ester 33 km, intensity II · Fairbanks 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× more

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 4.5 on 2019-04-11 — about 45 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 36 km E of Minto, Alaska · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 6 km NW of Farmers Loop, Alaska · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 14 km E of Minto, Alaska · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 14 km E of Minto, Alaska · 36 km NNW 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 64.8693, -148.7177. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK 108 km (67 mi) E earthquakes near Fairbanks North Star 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. 1.5 29 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
  2. 3.4 31 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
  3. 1.9 27 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
  4. 1.6 29 km W of Ester, Alaska
  5. 3.2 35 km WNW of Ester, Alaska
  6. 1.5 28 km SW of Ester, Alaska
  7. 1.6 30 km SSE of Minto, Alaska
  8. 2.3 30 km ESE of Minto, Alaska
  9. 1.5 21 km ENE of Minto, Alaska
  10. 2.0 25 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  11. 1.6 9 km NNE of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  12. 1.7 22 km NE of Minto, Alaska
  13. 2.4 24 km NE of Minto, Alaska
  14. 1.5 15 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
  15. 1.6 15 km NNE of Four Mile Road, 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.