quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Powell, WY
No earthquake was likely felt in Powell in the 24 hours to 5:29 am MST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 13 km (8 mi) N, at 3:38 am MDT on 25 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Powell
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.2 quarry blast was recorded 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Powell, WY, at 3:52 pm MDT on 3 July 2016 (21:52 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 17 km N of Frannie, Wyoming
74 km (46 mi) S of Billings, MT
- When
- 3:52 pm MDT on 3 July 2016 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Powell, WY · earthquakes near Powell
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- -2.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Carbon County, 33 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3781 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Powell, WY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Powell, WY. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Powell, 43 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 69 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 220,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 69 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 45.1263, -108.6267. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, MT | 33 km (21 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Carbon County |
| Big Horn County, WY | 83 km (52 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Big Horn County |
| Stillwater County, MT | 84 km (52 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Stillwater County |
| Big Horn County, MT | 92 km (57 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Big Horn County |
| Yellowstone County, MT | 94 km (59 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Yellowstone County |
| Park County, WY | 104 km (65 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Park County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
2 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.