QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Lake Hamilton, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lake Hamilton in the 24 hours to 10:09 am CST (16:09 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 735 km (457 mi) WNW, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lake Hamilton

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Lake Hamilton, AR, at 3:48 pm CST on 30 January 2016 (21:48 UTC), 1.7 km deep.

USGS: 16 km SW of Lake Hamilton, Arkansas

91 km (56 mi) WSW of Little Rock, AR

3:48 pm CST, Jan 30, 2016 · · 1.7 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hot Spring County 25 kmClark County 30 kmGarland County 30 kmPike County 44 kmMontgomery County 48 kmSaline County 62 kmDallas County 65 kmNevada County 73 kmGrant County 73 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
3:48 pm CST on 30 January 2016 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) southwest of Lake Hamilton, AR · earthquakes near Lake Hamilton
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
1.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hot Spring County, 25 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3936 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake Hamilton, 16 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rockwell, Piney, Hot Springs, Arkadelphia.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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 34.3177, -93.2183. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hot Spring County, AR 25 km (16 mi) E earthquakes near Hot Spring County
Clark County, AR 30 km (18 mi) S earthquakes near Clark County
Garland County, AR 30 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Garland County
Pike County, AR 44 km (27 mi) WSW earthquakes near Pike County
Montgomery County, AR 48 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Montgomery County
Saline County, AR 62 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Saline 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.

  1. 2.3 11 km ENE of Mount Ida, Arkansas
  2. 2.0 7 km SSW of Jones Mills, Arkansas

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.