M1.7 earthquake 7 km SSW of Sterling, Alaska, United States
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 7 km SSW of Sterling, Alaska, United States at 03:56 local time (12:56 UTC) on 2 Nov 2026, at a depth of 60 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-11-02 21:00 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 1.7micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 59.8 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-11-02 12:56:13 UTC
- Local: 2 Nov 2026, 03:56:13 (America/Anchorage)
- Epicentre
- 60.483° N, 150.810° W
Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| SterlingAlaska, United States · pop. 5,617 | 7 km | INot felt |
| KenaiAlaska, United States · pop. 7,661 | 26 km | INot felt |
| AnchorageAlaska, United States · pop. 289,600 | 96 km | INot felt |
| Eagle RiverAlaska, United States · pop. 24,793 | 115 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · AK, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · AKheadlineAlaska Earthquake Center via U.S. Geological Survey | 1.7 ml | 59.8 km | 60.48° N, 150.81° W | – | Reviewed |
How big was it?
Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.
It released roughly the energy of 5 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 60 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M1.7 releases about 11× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 5× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 5 kg of TNT vs 477 g of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M1.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
20 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M3.0 7 days ago. 7 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M1.7
20 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 14.19 | 2.2 | 74 |
| 19.74 | 2.0 | 67 |
| 51.10 | 2.0 | 73 |
| 62.79 | 2.6 | 64 |
| 63.41 | 3.0 | 65 |
| 77.04 | 2.0 | 48 |
| 78.77 | 1.9 | 30 |
| 82.72 | 2.0 | 54 |
| 96.63 | 1.8 | 27 |
| 98.08 | 1.9 | 55 |
| 103.18 | 1.8 | 50 |
| 109.35 | 2.6 | 62 |
| 129.16 | 1.9 | 31 |
| 137.24 | 1.7 | 28 |
| 144.26 | 1.9 | 48 |
| 144.26 | 1.7 | 46 |
| 230.40 | 2.2 | 58 |
| 231.40 | 2.4 | 46 |
| 233.26 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 240.24 | 2.5 | 68 |
- 3.026 km S of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-05 04:20
- 2.627 km S of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-05 03:43
- 2.610 km S of Kalifornsky, Alaska, United States11-07 02:17
- 2.521 km NNE of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-12 06:11
- 2.530 km SE of Kalifornsky, Alaska, United States11-12 13:10
- 2.47 km NNW of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-12 04:20
- 2.211 km NNE of Kenai, Alaska, United States11-03 03:07
- 2.215 km E of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-12 03:20
- 2.07 km SE of Kenai, Alaska, United States11-03 08:40
- 2.04 km NE of Kenai, Alaska, United States11-04 16:01
- 2.035 km SSE of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-05 17:58
- 2.019 km SE of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-05 23:39
- 1.927 km SE of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-05 19:42
- 1.910 km ESE of Kalifornsky, Alaska, United States11-06 15:01
- 1.911 km SW of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-07 22:05
- 1.99 km WSW of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-08 13:11
- 1.811 km NNW of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-06 13:34
- 1.817 km ESE of Kalifornsky, Alaska, United States11-06 20:07
- 1.714 km NNW of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-08 06:10
- 1.717 km SW of Sterling, Alaska, United States11-08 13:11
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id aka2026vsimzj. First recorded here 2 Nov 2026, 21:00:51 UTC. Solutions: USGS · AK (usgs:aka2026vsimzj). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.7 earthquake 7 km SSW of Sterling, Alaska, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/aka2026vsimzj-m1-7-earthquake-7-km-ssw-of-sterling-alaska-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/aka2026vsimzj. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.