Alaska earthquakes

M4.4 earthquake 9 km NNE of Sterling, Alaska

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 9 km NNE of Sterling, Alaska on Fri, Nov 17, 2017, 12:16 PM AKST (21:16 UTC), 49 km (31 mi) below the surface.

Sterling forecast More in Alaska

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.4 (Mw, moment), light
Magnitude from: Alaska Earthquake Center
Local time: Fri, Nov 17, 2017, 12:16 PM AKST
UTC: 2017-11-17 21:16:35 UTC
Depth: 49.1 km (30.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 60.620° N, 150.711° W
Region: Alaska
Felt reports: 217
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
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
4.4	Mw, moment	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preferred · Preliminary
4.4	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.031 · 100 stations
4.4	ML, local (Richter)	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 13 stations

Tsunami

The USGS flags a quake this large in an oceanic region. The flag does not mean a tsunami happened; the tsunami warning centers decide that, and their messages are below when they issued any.

Current tsunami warnings: tsunami.gov. Warnings in force in the US also appear on our alerts pages.

Did you feel it?

217 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

Fault motion and ground failure

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

Faulting: Oblique normal
Moment magnitude: 4.4 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 172°, dip 58°, rake -55°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 300°, dip 46°, rake -132°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Stations used: 303

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: at least 199 in the 60 days after this one and 111 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of at least 199.

Before

Earthquakes today Alaska earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ak017er840ds (also filed as ak17271046, at00ozkz3n, us2000bqq7). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 6:21 AM UTC.