QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Colorado

Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded in Colorado, at 8:52 pm MST on 19 January 2017 (03:52 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 5.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pitkin County 32 kmGunnison County 50 kmDelta County 59 kmEagle County 76 kmLake County 79 kmGarfield County 79 kmChaffee County 92 kmMesa County 105 kmSummit County 112 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
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Pitkin County, 32 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3501 days ago

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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 39.0971, -107.2530. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pitkin County, CO 32 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Pitkin County
Gunnison County, CO 50 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Gunnison County
Delta County, CO 59 km (37 mi) WSW earthquakes near Delta County
Eagle County, CO 76 km (47 mi) NE earthquakes near Eagle County
Lake County, CO 79 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Lake County
Garfield County, CO 79 km (49 mi) NW earthquakes near Garfield County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 10 km NE of Redstone, Colorado
  2. 2.6 12 km S of Mulford, Colorado
  3. 1.9 6 km WNW of Snowmass Village, Colorado
  4. 1.5 13 km ENE of Paonia, Colorado
  5. 1.8 2 km NNW of El Jebel, Colorado
  6. 2.8 9 km E of Woody Creek, Colorado
  7. 2.0 6 km E of Basalt, Colorado
  8. 1.6 6 km E of Basalt, Colorado
  9. 1.5 5 km SSW of Carbondale, Colorado
  10. 1.9 11 km E of Paonia, Colorado
  11. 1.6 9 km ESE of Paonia, Colorado
  12. 1.8 11 km NNE of Paonia, Colorado
  13. 2.4 9 km NW of Mount Crested Butte, Colorado
  14. 1.9 10 km SE of Crystal, Colorado
  15. 2.1 3 km NNW of Mount Crested Butte, Colorado

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.