QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Olive Hill, KY

USGS: 12 km N of Olive Hill, Kentucky

11:34 pm EST, Dec 21, 2016 · · 22 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Olive Hill Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carter County 16 kmLewis County 22 kmGreenup County 27 kmRowan County 32 kmElliott County 34 kmBoyd County 44 kmFleming County 46 kmScioto County 47 kmAdams 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
11:34 pm EST on 21 December 2016 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) N of Olive Hill, KY · earthquakes near Olive Hill
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carter County, 16 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3571 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) N of Olive Hill, KY, at 11:34 pm EST on 21 December 2016 (04:34 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Grayson, Vanceburg.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 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 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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 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 38.4120, -83.1793. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carter County, KY 16 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Carter County
Lewis County, KY 22 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Lewis County
Greenup County, KY 27 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near Greenup County
Rowan County, KY 32 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Rowan County
Elliott County, KY 34 km (21 mi) SSE earthquakes near Elliott County
Boyd County, KY 44 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Boyd County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 15 km E of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
  2. 2.2 2 km SSE of Concord, Kentucky
  3. 2.2 7 km WSW of Vanceburg, Kentucky
  4. 2.4 8 km SSE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
  5. 2.4 9 km NW of Olive Hill, Kentucky
  6. 2.3 5 km WNW of Sandy Hook, Kentucky
  7. 2.2 20 km SSW of Vanceburg, Kentucky
  8. 3.0 2 km E of Manchester, Ohio
  9. 2.1 10 km S of Concord, Kentucky
  10. 1.8 13 km ESE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
  11. 2.9 2 km SE of South Shore, Kentucky
  12. 1.9 Ohio-Kentucky border region
  13. 1.8 11 km SE of Maysville, Kentucky
  14. 2.3 4 km WSW of Stout, Ohio
  15. 2.1 11 km ESE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky

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.