Reviewed by USGSAlaska6mo ago
M2.7 earthquake 58 km S of King Cove, Alaska
Sunday, March 8, 2026, 22:31:47 UTC · 54.548°N, 162.145°W
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 58 km S of King Cove, Alaska on Sunday, March 8, 2026, 22:31:47 UTC, at a depth of 76.5 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.7
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 76 km
- Intermediate
- 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
120 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
76 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 lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.8 on March 30, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.583 km SE of False Pass, Alaska5mo ago · 47 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.666 km SSE of King Cove, Alaska5mo ago · 11 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.887 km SSE of King Cove, Alaska6mo ago · 36 km SE of this epicenter
- 2.996 km SE of False Pass, Alaska6mo ago · 45 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.580 km SSE of King Cove, Alaska6mo ago · 35 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 427 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.6The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska EarthquakeApril 1, 1946 · 126 km S of this epicenter
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 263 km E of this epicenter
- 8.22021 Chignik, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 29, 2021 · 287 km E of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 235 km E of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 162 km E of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 153 km E of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 108 km E of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 91 km E of this epicenter
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, which together caused about 169 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1946M8.6
Unimak Island
1 Apr 1946 · 126 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 90 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 235 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 262 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 2021M8.2
Alaska Peninsula
29 Jul 2021 · 288 km away · intensity VIII
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 89 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.