Alaska earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 55 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 55 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska on Wed, Aug 9, 2017, 5:49 AM AKDT (13:49 UTC), 24 km (15 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 130 km SW of Nikolski, Alaska. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Aug 9, 2017, 5:49 AM AKDT
UTC: 2017-08-09 13:49:28 UTC
Depth: 24.0 km (14.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 52.450° N, 169.023° 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
4.8	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.07 · 62 stations
5.0	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
4.8	mb, body-wave	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 6.5 km horizontally, 5.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.07
Stations used: 77

Nearest places

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

Unalaska, AlaskaPopulation 4,491. Forecast229 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 89 in the 60 days after this one and 37 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 89.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000a6d9 (also filed as ak16489548, ak017a5psw7f, iscgem610875388). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:02 PM UTC.