Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Sparta, IL
USGS: 6 km NW of Sparta, Illinois
67 km (42 mi) SE of St. Louis, MO
- When
- 4:31 pm CDT on 15 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) NW of Sparta, IL · earthquakes near Sparta
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 8.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Randolph County, 14 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- St. Louis-Cape Girardeau liquefaction features, under 1 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 717 days ago
A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) NW of Sparta, IL, at 4:31 pm CDT on 15 October 2018 (21:31 UTC). 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Marissa, Steeleville, New Athens, Red Bud, Chester.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 47 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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:
- 5.1 Southwestern Illinois · 40 km WSW 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 38.1720, -89.7472. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph County, IL | 14 km (9 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Randolph County |
| Perry County, IL | 35 km (21 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Perry County |
| Washington County, IL | 35 km (22 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Washington County |
| St. Clair County, IL | 37 km (23 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near St. Clair County |
| Monroe County, IL | 40 km (25 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monroe County |
| Ste. Genevieve County, MO | 48 km (30 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ste. Genevieve County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
9 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 4 km S of Valmeyer, Illinois
- 2.4 1 km SSW of O'Fallon, Illinois
- 2.8 1 km NNE of Germantown, Illinois
- 2.5 6 km ENE of Pinckneyville, Illinois
- 2.2 6 km E of Ellis Grove, Illinois
- 2.0 4 km NNW of Venedy, Illinois
- 2.1 7 km NW of Du Bois, Illinois
- 2.3 5 km ENE of Ruma, Illinois
- 2.5 7 km W of Tamaroa, Illinois
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.