Reviewed by USGSAlaska10y ago
M2.7 earthquake 78 km NE of Nikolski, Alaska
Sunday, January 17, 2016, 08:17:38 UTC · 53.458°N, 168.061°W
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 78 km NE of Nikolski, Alaska on Sunday, January 17, 2016, 08:17:38 UTC, at a depth of 76.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.7
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 77 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
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
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: intermediate
77 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 644 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.881 km E of Nikolski, AlaskaJuly 2, 1965 · 57 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4133 km WNW of Nikolski, AlaskaApril 18, 1916 · 173 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AlaskaJune 24, 2011 · 298 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.139 km S of Akutan, AlaskaMarch 22, 1957 · 155 km E of this epicenter
- 7.135 km SW of Nikolski, AlaskaMarch 11, 1957 · 114 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0203 km SSE of Unalaska, AlaskaAugust 22, 1940 · 225 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1901M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
31 Dec 1901 · 300 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1965M6.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
2 Jul 1965 · 59 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M7.9
Alaska Peninsula
31 May 1917 · 163 km away · intensity V
- 1902M7.8
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
1 Jan 1902 · 124 km away
- 1907M7.8
Aleutian Islands
2 Sep 1907 · 148 km away
- 1916M7.5
Aleutian Islands: Fox Islands
18 Apr 1916 · 130 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.