M3.6 earthquake 139 km E of Chignik, Alaska

Thursday, January 20, 2022, 11:37:14 UTC · 56.122°N, 156.181°W

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 139 km E of Chignik, Alaska on Thursday, January 20, 2022, 11:37:14 UTC, at a depth of 47.2 km (shallow).

Magnitude: 3.6; Minor · ml
Depth: 47 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: II; Weak (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

4 tons of TNT

That is about 1/3,975 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 126 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

153 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

47 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.2 on January 28, 2022. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 421 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

1900M8.3
Kodiak Island
9 Oct 1900 · 197 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
1788M8.0
Unga Island
21 Jul 1788 · 218 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 191 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1970M6.0
Andreanof Islands
11 Mar 1970 · 207 km away · intensity V
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1792
Kodiak Island
1792 · 274 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 154 km away · intensity VI
tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers