QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Short Pump, VA

No earthquake was likely felt in Short Pump in the 24 hours to 9:46 am EST (14:46 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 4 km (3 mi) NW, at 7:12 am EDT on 30 April 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 162 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Short Pump

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 43 km (26 mi) north-northwest of Short Pump, VA, at 10:09 pm EDT on 20 April 2016 (02:09 UTC), 3.1 km deep.

USGS: 7 km ESE of Mineral, Virginia

60 km (37 mi) NNW of Richmond, VA · 124 km (77 mi) SW of Washington, DC

10:09 pm EDT, Apr 20, 2016 · · 3.1 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Short Pump Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Louisa County 12 kmSpotsylvania County 26 kmGoochland County 31 kmOrange County 33 kmHanover County 39 kmCaroline County 42 kmFluvanna County 44 kmFredericksburg city 45 kmPowhatan County 50 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
10:09 pm EDT on 20 April 2016 ()
Where
43 km (26 mi) north-northwest of Short Pump, VA · earthquakes near Short Pump
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
3.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Louisa County, 12 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3856 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Short Pump, 43 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: Louisa.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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. 5.8 11 km SSW of Mineral, Virginia · 13 km SW 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 37.9930, -77.8277. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Louisa County, VA 12 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Louisa County
Spotsylvania County, VA 26 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Spotsylvania County
Goochland County, VA 31 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Goochland County
Orange County, VA 33 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orange County
Hanover County, VA 39 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Hanover County
Caroline County, VA 42 km (26 mi) E earthquakes near Caroline County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km SW of Wyndham, Virginia
  2. 2.3 1 km NE of Wyndham, Virginia
  3. 2.8 1 km NNE of Wyndham, Virginia
  4. 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
  5. 2.3 4 km N of Glen Allen, Virginia
  6. 2.2 Virginia
  7. 1.6 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
  8. 2.3 15 km S of Louisa, Virginia
  9. 2.3 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
  10. 2.3 2 km WSW of Columbia, Virginia
  11. 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
  12. 2.4 13 km NW of Ashland, Virginia
  13. 2.2 6 km WNW of Ashland, Virginia
  14. 2.0 13 km SW of Goochland, Virginia
  15. 2.7 10 km S of Louisa, Virginia

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.