QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Cabo Rojo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cabo Rojo in the 24 hours to 5:30 pm AST (21:30 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (6 mi) SSE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in Cabo Rojo, PR, at 9:48 am AST on 17 July 2017 (13:48 UTC), 31 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SW of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

14 km (9 mi) S of Mayagüez, PR · 121 km (75 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

9:48 am AST, Jul 17, 2017 · · 31 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hormigueros Municipio 8 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 9 kmSan Germán Municipio 13 kmLajas Municipio 16 kmSabana Grande Municipio 22 kmAñasco Municipio 24 kmLas Marías Municipio 25 kmMaricao Municipio 26 kmGuánica Municipio 28 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
9:48 am AST on 17 July 2017 ()
Where
in Cabo Rojo, PR · earthquakes near Cabo Rojo
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
31 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hormigueros Municipio, 8 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3404 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: Puerto Real, Monte Grande, Boquerón, Hormigueros, Sabana Eneas, Palmarejo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 41 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 km WNW 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 18.0748, -67.1541. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) N earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 3 km SSE of Monte Grande, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 4 km SSE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 17 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 0 km N of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 5 km SW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 14 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 12 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 11 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 11 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 20 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 0 km WSW of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 18 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 4 km E of Espino, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 12 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 6 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico

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.