Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near New Castle, CO
No earthquake was likely felt in New Castle in the 24 hours to 11:19 pm MST (06:19 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 706 km (439 mi) ESE, at 4:21 am MDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near New Castle
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) southwest of New Castle, CO, at 1:46 pm MST on 30 January 2017 (20:46 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km SW of New Castle, Colorado
- When
- 1:46 pm MST on 30 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 6 km (3 mi) southwest of New Castle, CO · earthquakes near New Castle
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Garfield County, 28 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3486 days ago
Earthquake alerts for New Castle, CO
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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 52 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In New Castle, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: New Castle 6 km, intensity III · Glenwood Springs 23 km, intensity II · Carbondale 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× more
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 39.5427, -107.5885. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield County, CO | 28 km (18 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Garfield County |
| Pitkin County, CO | 68 km (42 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Pitkin County |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 71 km (44 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Rio Blanco County |
| Eagle County, CO | 77 km (48 mi) | E | earthquakes near Eagle County |
| Delta County, CO | 79 km (49 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Delta County |
| Mesa County, CO | 95 km (59 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mesa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
28 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 18 km SSE of Meeker, Colorado
- 2.2 10 km NW of Dotsero, Colorado
- 2.8 10 km NE of Redstone, Colorado
- 2.6 12 km S of Mulford, Colorado
- 2.1 6 km NNW of Chacra, Colorado
- 2.5 22 km NNW of New Castle, Colorado
- 2.9 6 km NNE of Chacra, Colorado
- 2.5 7 km NNW of Chacra, Colorado
- 2.6 6 km NNW of Chacra, Colorado
- 2.9 8 km NNW of Chacra, Colorado
- 2.1 9 km NNE of New Castle, Colorado
- 1.8 2 km NNW of El Jebel, Colorado
- 1.7 15 km NW of Dotsero, Colorado
- 1.7 11 km NE of Battlement Mesa, Colorado
- 2.4 19 km NNE of Chacra, 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
- 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.