Alaska earthquakes

M3.0 earthquake 8 km WNW of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 8 km WNW of Sutton-Alpine, Alaska on Sun, Apr 20, 1997, 11:34 PM AKDT (07:34 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.3 8 km NW of Knik-Fairview, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Sutton-Alpine forecast More in Alaska

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 3.0 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from: Alaska Earthquake Center
Local time: Sun, Apr 20, 1997, 11:34 PM AKDT
UTC: 1997-04-21 07:34:13 UTC
Depth: 17.1 km (10.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 61.819° N, 148.904° W
Region: Alaska
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.0	ML, local (Richter)	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preferred · Preliminary
3.5	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (II) at Anchorage.

From the USGS event page for ak99753p0vef. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Stations used: 25

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 103 in the 60 days after this one and 68 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 103.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ak99753p0vef (also filed as usp00080wf). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 12:57 PM UTC.