Alaska earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 84 km ESE of Sand Point, Alaska

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 84 km ESE of Sand Point, Alaska on Wed, Nov 15, 2017, 2:52 AM AKST (11:52 UTC), 32 km (20 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.8 122 km SE of Perryville, 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: 4.5 (Mwr, regional moment), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Nov 15, 2017, 2:52 AM AKST
UTC: 2017-11-15 11:52:03 UTC
Depth: 31.8 km (19.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 55.085° N, 159.248° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 2
Strongest shaking: IV, light shaking
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
4.5	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.039 · 63 stations
4.5	Mw, moment	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preliminary

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: IV, light shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

2 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Strike-slip
Moment magnitude: 4.5 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 254°, dip 89°, rake -9°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 344°, dip 81°, rake -179°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.9 km horizontally, 5.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Stations used: 174

Nearest places

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

Sand Point, AlaskaPopulation 1,064. Forecast84 kmESE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 37 in the 60 days after this one and 16 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 us2000bnw8 (also filed as ak17227471, ak017enramp9). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:05 AM UTC.