The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 4 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Kotzebue, the biggest of them M3.4. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Kotzebue came at 2.4× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Kotzebue — records go back to 1980 — was the M5.8 of Jun 07, 2014, 04:43 UTC: northern Alaska.
How we figure this: 5 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 2.1 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Kotzebue, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Kotzebue are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Kotzebue
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3.4 | 36 km ENE of Noatak, Alaska | Oct 19, 2026, 10:07 PM | 5 km | 92 km N |
| M1.8 | 29 km WSW of Kotzebue, Alaska | Oct 07, 2026, 10:39 AM | 11 km | 30 km WSW |
| M1.9 | 33 km WNW of Buckland, Alaska | Oct 07, 2026, 01:22 AM | 5 km | 93 km SSE |
| M1.7 | 37 km ENE of Deering, Alaska | Oct 04, 2026, 11:31 PM | 10 km | 87 km SSE |
| M2.3 | 42 km SE of Kotzebue, Alaska | Oct 02, 2026, 02:10 PM | 10 km | 43 km SE |
| M1.8 | 49 km NNW of Kiana, Alaska | Aug 31, 2026, 11:42 AM | 14 km | 86 km NE |
| M2.0 | 69 km NNW of Kiana, Alaska | Aug 23, 2026, 09:30 PM | 2 km | 96 km NE |
| M2.2 | 55 km ESE of Noatak, Alaska | Aug 18, 2026, 05:59 AM | 16 km | 74 km NNE |
| M1.7 | 34 km W of Kotzebue, Alaska | Jul 22, 2026, 01:07 PM | 5 km | 34 km W |
| M2.3 | 32 km W of Kotzebue, Alaska | Jul 11, 2026, 02:24 PM | 11 km | 32 km W |
Earthquakes per year near Kotzebue (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Kotzebue
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 32 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Kotzebue (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5.8 | northern Alaska | Jun 07, 2014, 04:43 UTC | 92 km |
| M5.7 | 29 km ENE of Noatak, Alaska | Jun 16, 2014, 12:01 UTC | 87 km |
| M5.7 | 25 km NE of Noatak, Alaska | May 03, 2014, 08:57 UTC | 91 km |
| M5.7 | 18 km NE of Noatak, Alaska | Apr 18, 2014, 18:56 UTC | 89 km |
| M5.7 | 22 km NE of Noatak, Alaska | Apr 18, 2014, 18:44 UTC | 89 km |
| M5.0 | 23 km NE of Noatak, Alaska | May 03, 2014, 09:57 UTC | 91 km |
| M5.0 | 23 km ENE of Noatak, Alaska | Apr 19, 2014, 08:49 UTC | 87 km |
| M4.9 | 51 km E of Noatak, Alaska | Jul 18, 2014, 05:33 UTC | 85 km |
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 21:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 21:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.