M1.8 Earthquake near Point Possession, United States — 01 September 2026
A micro earthquake of magnitude 1.8 was recorded near Point Possession, United States on , with an epicentre 13 km west of Point Possession, at a focal depth of 9.5 km. It ranked as the 2080th strongest of 7753 earthquakes recorded in the United States in the preceding 30 days.
Time (UTC): 2026-09-01 20:04:51
Time (your timezone): —
Magnitude: 1.8 (micro)
Focal depth: 9.5 km (shallow)
Epicentre: 60.9050, -150.9330
Location: 13 km W of Point Possession, Alaska
Country: United States
USGS link to NOAA tsunami information: Not linked
Review status: Reviewed
Source: USGS event page
How strong was this earthquake?
Micro earthquakes are almost never felt at the surface and are recorded only by seismographs.
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake radiates roughly 7.6 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
The USGS assigns this earthquake a significance score of 50, which is below the USGS threshold of more than 600 for its significant-earthquake list. The ranking combines magnitude with available Did You Feel It responses and PAGER alert level; it is not a direct measurement of damage.
What the magnitude scale actually measures →
When it happened locally
That is about 10:01 local solar time at the epicentre, during the morning.
This event was deeper than 68% of the 152,864 earthquakes recorded in the United States in our catalogue and stronger than 76% of them.
Where was the epicentre?
The epicentre was located at 60.9050, -150.9330 — 13 km west of Point Possession. The closest other recorded event was a magnitude 1.7 earthquake 3 km north-northwest of here on 02 September 2026.
The nearest other settlement in our records is Anchor Point (163 km south-southwest).
Why the 10 km depth matters
At 10 km this was a shallow earthquake. Shallow events release their energy close to the surface, so for a given magnitude they produce noticeably stronger shaking — and more damage — than deeper ones. Roughly three quarters of all earthquakes worldwide occur at shallow depths.
This catalogue does not ingest eyewitness responses, so it cannot confirm where this earthquake was felt. Based on magnitude alone, events this small are usually detected by instruments rather than people. Its shallow focus makes stronger surface shaking more likely than for a deeper event of the same magnitude.
Read more on how focal depth changes what you feel →
What does the tsunami information flag mean?
The USGS record does not carry a link to NOAA tsunami information. That field is not an all-clear and does not state whether a tsunami occurred. In this case, a damaging tsunami would be less likely because at M1.8 it falls below the magnitude 6.5 threshold that generally applies before a submarine earthquake displaces enough water to generate a damaging tsunami; it occurred inland rather than beneath the sea floor. For an active coastal alert, use tsunami.gov or your local warning authority.
How earthquakes generate tsunamis, and what the alert levels mean →
Aftershocks and local seismic history
10 further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre in the 20 hours since this event, the largest of them magnitude 2.3.
39 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 6.0 event near Susitna on 27 November 2025. This M1.8 event released about 2.0 million times less energy than that event.
1608 earthquakes have been recorded within 100 km of this epicentre in the past year, 125 of them in the past 30 days.
How long aftershock sequences last, and how large they get →
Where this event sits in the record
This earthquake is part of the September 2026 worldwide record, and of earthquakes in the United States during September 2026. Browse the full monthly archive to compare periods.
Nearest recorded earthquakes to this epicentre
- M1.7 earthquake near Point Possession, United States — (3 km NNW)
- M1.8 earthquake near Tyonek, United States — (17 km N)
- M1.7 earthquake near Tyonek, United States — (25 km WNW)
- M2.4 earthquake near Nikiski, United States — (26 km WSW)
- M1.9 earthquake near Sterling, United States — (44 km SE)
- M2.1 earthquake near Anchorage, United States — (46 km NE)
- M1.7 earthquake near Kalifornsky, United States — (64 km SW)
- M2.3 earthquake near Point MacKenzie, United States — (67 km NE)
- M2.3 earthquake near Beluga, United States — (67 km NNW)
- M1.5 earthquake near Point MacKenzie, United States — (68 km NNE)
Other recent earthquakes in the United States
- M2.3 earthquake near Hope, United States —
- M0.8 earthquake near Ninilchik, United States —
- M2.4 earthquake near Dibble, United States —
- M1.3 earthquake near Borrego Springs, United States —
- M1.3 earthquake near Redlands, United States —
- M1.5 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
- M0.3 earthquake near Banning, United States —
- M2.2 earthquake near Pedro Bay, United States —
- M2.0 earthquake near Susitna North, United States —
- M1.6 earthquake near Idyllwild, United States —
Other magnitude 1 earthquakes worldwide
- M2.0 earthquake near Susitna North, United States —
- M1.6 earthquake near Idyllwild, United States —
- M1.9 earthquake near Pāhala, United States —
- M1.7 earthquake near Hildale, United States —
- M1.7 earthquake near Hidden Valley Lake, United States —
- M1.6 earthquake near Hayward, United States —
- M1.8 earthquake near Tyonek, United States —
- M1.6 earthquake near Lucien, United States —
Questions about this earthquake
How strong was the earthquake near Point Possession?
It measured magnitude 1.8 — a micro earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake radiates roughly 7.6 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
How deep was the earthquake near Point Possession?
The focus was 10 km below the surface, which counts as shallow.
Was the Point Possession earthquake felt at the surface?
At magnitude 1.8 and a focal depth of 10 km, shaking would have been concentrated near the epicentre.
When did the earthquake near Point Possession happen?
01 September 2026 at 20:04 UTC.
Was there a tsunami?
No. The USGS record carries no tsunami-information link for this event.
Have there been aftershocks?
10 further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre in the 20 hours since this event, the largest of them magnitude 2.3.
How often do earthquakes happen near Point Possession?
39 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 6.0 event near Susitna on 27 November 2025. This M1.8 event released about 2.0 million times less energy than that event.