QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Columbia, SC

USGS: 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina

22 km (13 mi) NE of Columbia, SC · 117 km (73 mi) S of Charlotte, NC

1:46 am EDT, Jun 26, 2022 · · 3.3 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Richland County 22 kmKershaw County 23 kmSumter County 42 kmLee County 43 kmFairfield County 45 kmCalhoun County 54 kmLancaster County 59 kmLexington County 59 kmChester County 71 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
1:46 am EDT on 26 June 2022 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) ENE of Columbia, SC · earthquakes near Columbia
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
3.3 km below the surface
Felt
65 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Richland County, 22 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1490 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) ENE of Columbia, SC, at 1:46 am EDT on 26 June 2022 (05:46 UTC). 65 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: Lugoff, Camden, Woodfield, Blythewood, Dentsville, Stateburg.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 34.1608, -80.7228. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Richland County, SC 22 km (14 mi) SW earthquakes near Richland County
Kershaw County, SC 23 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kershaw County
Sumter County, SC 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Sumter County
Lee County, SC 43 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Lee County
Fairfield County, SC 45 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Fairfield County
Calhoun County, SC 54 km (34 mi) S earthquakes near Calhoun County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 7 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
  2. 2.5 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
  3. 2.1 6 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
  4. 2.3 5 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
  5. 2.2 6 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
  6. 2.2 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
  7. 1.9 7 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
  8. 2.6 5 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
  9. 1.7 6 km S of Lugoff, South Carolina
  10. 1.9 7 km SE of Elgin, South Carolina
  11. 2.1 6 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
  12. 2.2 6 km SSW of Lugoff, South Carolina
  13. 1.7 0 km ENE of Elgin, South Carolina
  14. 2.2 8 km SE of Elgin, South Carolina
  15. 2.0 7 km E of Elgin, South Carolina

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.