QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Guernsey, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Guernsey in the 24 hours to 1:19 am MST (08:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 33 km (21 mi) NNW, at 3:31 am MDT on 28 May 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guernsey

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Guernsey, WY, at 7:19 am MST on 6 January 2018 (14:19 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 19 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km SW of Guernsey, Wyoming

7:19 am MST, Jan 6, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Platte County 15 kmGoshen County 40 kmSioux County 93 kmAlbany County 97 kmNiobrara County 98 kmScotts Bluff County 100 kmConverse County 103 kmLaramie County 104 kmBanner County 117 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
7:19 am MST on 6 January 2018 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) southwest of Guernsey, WY · earthquakes near Guernsey
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
19 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Platte County, 15 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3156 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 73 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Guernsey, 8 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Wheatland.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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 42.2206, -104.8104. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Platte County, WY 15 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Platte County
Goshen County, WY 40 km (25 mi) ESE earthquakes near Goshen County
Sioux County, NE 93 km (58 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sioux County
Albany County, WY 97 km (61 mi) SW earthquakes near Albany County
Niobrara County, WY 98 km (61 mi) NNE earthquakes near Niobrara County
Scotts Bluff County, NE 100 km (62 mi) ESE earthquakes near Scotts Bluff County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 9 km ENE of Glendo, Wyoming
  2. 2.7 19 km ENE of Hartville, Wyoming

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.