QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

southern Idaho

Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded in southern Idaho, at 8:24 am MDT on 27 October 2023 (14:24 UTC), 11 km deep.

· 11 km deep · released about 56 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Valley County 22 kmAdams County 86 kmBoise County 90 kmCuster County 105 kmGem County 112 kmWashington County 117 kmLemhi County 119 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Valley County, 22 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1112 days ago

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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 56 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 270,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 17× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 56 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 6.5 on 2020-03-31 — about 3,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 37 km N of Stanley, Idaho · 44 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho · 29 km SE of this epicentre

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 44.7593, -115.3810. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Valley County, ID 22 km (13 mi) WNW earthquakes near Valley County
Adams County, ID 86 km (54 mi) W earthquakes near Adams County
Boise County, ID 90 km (56 mi) SSW earthquakes near Boise County
Custer County, ID 105 km (65 mi) ESE earthquakes near Custer County
Gem County, ID 112 km (70 mi) SW earthquakes near Gem County
Washington County, ID 117 km (73 mi) WSW earthquakes near Washington County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 24 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  2. 2.0 23 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  3. 1.9 12 km ENE of Donnelly, Idaho
  4. 2.0 42 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  5. 2.1 23 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  6. 2.7 32 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  7. 2.2 30 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  8. 2.3 32 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  9. 2.4 31 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  10. 1.8 42 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  11. 1.5 42 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  12. 2.1 31 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  13. 1.8 26 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  14. 2.5 24 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  15. 1.8 32 km NW of Stanley, Idaho

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.