Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Charlottesville, VA
USGS: 10 km SSW of Mineral, Virginia
60 km (37 mi) NW of Richmond, VA · 136 km (85 mi) SW of Washington, DC
- When
- 12:51 am EST on 5 November 2019 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) ESE of Charlottesville, VA · earthquakes near Charlottesville
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 4.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Louisa County, 6 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Central Virginia seismic zone, 12 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 2435 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) ESE of Charlottesville, VA, at 12:51 am EST on 5 November 2019 (05:51 UTC). 11 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: Louisa.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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:
- 5.8 11 km SSW of Mineral, Virginia · 1 km SSE 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 37.9203, -77.9442. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisa County, VA | 6 km (4 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Louisa County |
| Goochland County, VA | 23 km (14 mi) | S | earthquakes near Goochland County |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 31 km (20 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fluvanna County |
| Orange County, VA | 37 km (23 mi) | N | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Spotsylvania County, VA | 38 km (24 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Spotsylvania County |
| Powhatan County, VA | 41 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Powhatan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
18 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 3 km SW of Wyndham, Virginia
- 2.3 1 km NE of Wyndham, Virginia
- 2.8 1 km NNE of Wyndham, Virginia
- 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 18 km ENE of Cumberland, Virginia
- 2.3 4 km N of Glen Allen, Virginia
- 2.2 Virginia
- 1.6 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 15 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 2 km WSW of Columbia, Virginia
- 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.4 13 km NW of Ashland, Virginia
- 2.2 8 km ENE of Cumberland, Virginia
- 2.2 6 km WNW of Ashland, 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
- 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.