Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1md
Earthquake near Mount Vernon, IL
No earthquake was likely felt in Mount Vernon in the 24 hours to 2:26 am CST (08:26 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 87 km (54 mi) ENE, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mount Vernon
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) west-southwest of Mount Vernon, IL, at 10:10 pm CST on 17 December 2023 (04:10 UTC), 17 km deep. 425 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km WNW of Waltonville, Illinois
- When
- 10:10 pm CST on 17 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) west-southwest of Mount Vernon, IL · earthquakes near Mount Vernon
- Illinois today
- every earthquake in Illinois in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (md)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 425 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Jefferson County, 17 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wabash Valley 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 957 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mount Vernon, IL
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mount Vernon, IL. 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 76 km (47 mi) from the epicentre. In Mount Vernon, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Sesser, Ina, Du Quoin, Nashville, Christopher.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 280,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 12,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 8,800× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.3× more
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 38.2325, -89.0952. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, IL | 17 km (10 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Perry County, IL | 29 km (18 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Perry County |
| Franklin County, IL | 31 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Washington County, IL | 31 km (19 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Marion County, IL | 49 km (30 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Clinton County, IL | 51 km (31 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Clinton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 4 km NNE of Valier, Illinois
- 2.3 7 km NW of Woodlawn, Illinois
- 2.5 6 km ENE of Pinckneyville, 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.