M3.6 earthquake 96 km S of McCarthy, Alaska

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 96 km S of McCarthy, Alaska on Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 7:24 PM AKST (04:24 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.

Map

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

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)	Alaska Earthquake Center	Preferred · Preliminary
4.0	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.045 · 47 stations

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

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

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

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 29 in the 60 days after this one and 16 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ak020g4k5t1k (also filed as us7000crfz). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC.