QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Farmington, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Farmington in the 24 hours to 10:44 am CST (16:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 23 km (14 mi) E, at 11:25 pm CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Farmington

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Farmington, MO, at 9:51 pm CDT on 15 July 2018 (02:51 UTC), 3.3 km deep.

USGS: 9 km ENE of Leadington, Missouri

86 km (54 mi) S of St. Louis, MO

9:51 pm CDT, Jul 15, 2018 · · 3.3 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N St. Francois County 10 kmSte. Genevieve County 20 kmIron County 38 kmMadison County 44 kmWashington County 45 kmJefferson County 45 kmMonroe County 49 kmRandolph County 54 kmPerry County 54 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
9:51 pm CDT on 15 July 2018 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Farmington, MO · earthquakes near Farmington
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
3.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
St. Francois County, 10 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
St. Louis-Cape Girardeau liquefaction features, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3041 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Farmington, 10 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: Esther, Flat River, Park Hills, Desloge, Elvins, Bonne Terre.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 Southwestern Illinois · 31 km NNE 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 37.8677, -90.3885. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
St. Francois County, MO 10 km (6 mi) SW earthquakes near St. Francois County
Ste. Genevieve County, MO 20 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Ste. Genevieve County
Iron County, MO 38 km (24 mi) SW earthquakes near Iron County
Madison County, MO 44 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Madison County
Washington County, MO 45 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Washington County
Jefferson County, MO 45 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 14 km SSE of Weingarten, Missouri
  2. 2.0 6 km SSW of Valmeyer, Illinois
  3. 2.2 15 km SW of Ozora, Missouri
  4. 2.1 4 km N of Marquand, Missouri
  5. 1.7 3 km WNW of Olympian Village, Missouri
  6. 2.3 4 km S of Valmeyer, Illinois
  7. 2.4 8 km SW of Ozora, Missouri
  8. 2.3 4 km E of Herculaneum, Missouri
  9. 1.9 5 km NW of Weingarten, Missouri
  10. 2.2 4 km E of Bonne Terre, Missouri
  11. 2.2 5 km NNE of Terre du Lac, Missouri
  12. 1.9 5 km W of Terre du Lac, Missouri
  13. 2.1 7 km SSW of Olympian Village, Missouri
  14. 2.2 2 km SE of De Soto, Missouri
  15. 2.3 7 km SSW of Olympian Village, Missouri

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.