QuakeScout
Magnitude2.7

Reviewed by USGSAlaska9d ago

M2.7 earthquake 101 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska

Thursday, September 17, 2026, 09:11:54 UTC · 52.047°N, 169.190°W

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 101 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska on Thursday, September 17, 2026, 09:11:54 UTC, at a depth of 14.4 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.7
Minor · ml
Depth
14 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

169 kg of TNT

That is about 1/88,990 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2,818 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

37 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

14 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 since this event; the largest was M4.0 on September 19, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7dMainshock M2.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.784 km S of Nikolski, Alaska6d ago · 34 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 2.995 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska6d ago · 7 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 3.296 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska6d ago · 6 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 4.085 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska7d ago · 28 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 3.2111 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska8d ago · 31 km W of this epicenter
  6. 3.895 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska9d ago · 9 km NW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 742 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8234 km SSW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 7, 1929 · 133 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 149 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 184 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.3Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 24, 2011 · 181 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 72 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1901M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    31 Dec 1901 · 142 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1965M6.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    2 Jul 1965 · 156 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1902M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    1 Jan 1902 · 122 km away

  4. 1907M7.8

    Aleutian Islands

    2 Sep 1907 · 71 km away

  5. 1929M7.8

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    7 Mar 1929 · 129 km away · intensity V

    tsunami

  6. 1916M7.5

    Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands

    18 Apr 1916 · 150 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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