Alaska earthquakes

M3.6 earthquake 89 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 89 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska on Tue, Dec 20, 2016, 9:56 AM AKST (18:56 UTC), 29 km (18 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.8 16 km SSW of Sand Point, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

Sand Point 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: 3.6 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Dec 20, 2016, 9:56 AM AKST
UTC: 2016-12-20 18:56:02 UTC
Depth: 29.4 km (18.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 54.597° N, 161.057° 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
3.6	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.105 · 12 stations
3.2	ML, local (Richter)	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 7.9 km horizontally, 15.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.10
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 193°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used: 40

Nearest places

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

Sand Point, AlaskaPopulation 1,064. Forecast89 kmSSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 54 in the 60 days after this one and 35 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10007ne2 (also filed as ak14773296, ak016gbeu0lx). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC.