Reviewed by USGSAlaska2mo ago
M2.8 earthquake 32 km SW of Sand Point, Alaska
Monday, July 20, 2026, 07:35:55 UTC · 55.164°N, 160.916°W
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 32 km SW of Sand Point, Alaska on Monday, July 20, 2026, 07:35:55 UTC, at a depth of 89.8 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.8
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 90 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
239 kg of TNT
That is about 1/63,000 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,995 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
165 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
90 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M2.9 on July 30, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 416 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 · 224 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21938 Semidi Islands, Alaska EarthquakeNovember 10, 1938 · 174 km E of this epicenter
- 8.22021 Chignik, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 29, 2021 · 193 km E of this epicenter
- 7.82020 Perryville, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 22, 2020 · 148 km E of this epicenter
- 7.62020 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeOctober 19, 2020 · 104 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.454 km SE of Sand Point, AlaskaMay 31, 1917 · 68 km E of this epicenter
- 7.32025 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2025 · 72 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.22023 Sand Point, Alaska EarthquakeJuly 16, 2023 · 86 km S 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 · 224 km away · intensity VI
168 deaths$26 million damagetsunami
- 2023M7.2
Alaska Peninsula
16 Jul 2023 · 79 km away · intensity VI
1 deathtsunami
- 2020M7.8
Alaska
22 Jul 2020 · 148 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1938M8.2
Alaska
10 Nov 1938 · 165 km away · intensity VI
tsunami
- 2021M8.2
Alaska Peninsula
29 Jul 2021 · 196 km away · intensity VIII
tsunami
- 1788M8.0
Alaska Peninsula
6 Aug 1788 · 19 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.