Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6mlg
Earthquake near Richmond, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Richmond in the 24 hours to 7:29 am EST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 21 km (13 mi) NW, at 2:50 am EST on 15 January 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 246 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Richmond
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Richmond, VA, at 10:11 pm EDT on 12 March 2017 (02:11 UTC), 11 km deep. 382 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km ENE of Goochland, Virginia
35 km (22 mi) WNW of Richmond, VA
- When
- 10:11 pm EDT on 12 March 2017 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Richmond, VA · earthquakes near Richmond
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (mlg)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 382 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Goochland County, 9 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Central Virginia seismic zone, 4 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 3445 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Richmond, VA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. In Richmond, 35 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: Wyndham, Short Pump, Tuckahoe, Midlothian, Glen Allen, Laurel.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 · 25 km NNW 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 37.7023, -77.8155. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goochland County, VA | 9 km (6 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Goochland County |
| Powhatan County, VA | 19 km (12 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Powhatan County |
| Hanover County, VA | 29 km (18 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Hanover County |
| Louisa County, VA | 33 km (20 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Louisa County |
| Richmond city, VA | 35 km (22 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Richmond city |
| Chesterfield County, VA | 41 km (26 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Chesterfield County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 11 km S of Woodlake, Virginia
- 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
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.