QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Grand Junction, CO

USGS: 12 km WSW of De Beque, Colorado

29 km (18 mi) NE of Grand Junction, CO

6:38 pm MDT, May 9, 2017 · · 5.7 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Grand Junction Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mesa County 31 kmGarfield County 51 kmDelta County 63 kmRio Blanco County 77 kmMontrose County 98 kmGrand County 111 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
6:38 pm MDT on 9 May 2017 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) NE of Grand Junction, CO · earthquakes near Grand Junction
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
5.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mesa County, 31 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3349 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) NE of Grand Junction, CO, at 6:38 pm MDT on 9 May 2017 (00:38 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Palisade, Clifton, Fruitvale.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 39.2889, -108.3495. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mesa County, CO 31 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mesa County
Garfield County, CO 51 km (32 mi) NE earthquakes near Garfield County
Delta County, CO 63 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Delta County
Rio Blanco County, CO 77 km (48 mi) N earthquakes near Rio Blanco County
Montrose County, CO 98 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Montrose County
Grand County, UT 111 km (69 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grand County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 15 km WSW of Collbran, Colorado
  2. 2.0 14 km NE of Fruita, Colorado
  3. 2.8 29 km WNW of De Beque, Colorado
  4. 1.9 19 km SSE of Orchard Mesa, Colorado
  5. 1.7 24 km NNE of Loma, Colorado
  6. 2.5 Colorado
  7. 1.5 28 km NW of De Beque, Colorado
  8. 2.0 15 km ENE of Palisade, Colorado
  9. 1.7 12 km SE of De Beque, Colorado
  10. 1.7 11 km NE of Battlement Mesa, Colorado
  11. 1.6 22 km NNE of Loma, Colorado
  12. 1.6 35 km NNE of Loma, Colorado
  13. 2.7 26 km NNE of Loma, Colorado
  14. 1.5 22 km WNW of Delta, Colorado
  15. 2.6 28 km NNE of Fruita, 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.