QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

Earthquake near Broken Bow, NE

USGS: 1 km WNW of Arnold, Nebraska

12:39 am CDT, Jun 21, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Logan County 23 kmCuster County 41 kmThomas County 54 kmBlaine County 58 kmLincoln County 61 kmDawson County 71 kmLoup County 78 kmMcPherson County 79 kmHooker County 93 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
12:39 am CDT on 21 June 2018 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) W of Broken Bow, NE · earthquakes near Broken Bow
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Logan County, 23 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2935 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) W of Broken Bow, NE, at 12:39 am CDT on 21 June 2018 (05:39 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 41.4314, -100.2117. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Logan County, NE 23 km (14 mi) WNW earthquakes near Logan County
Custer County, NE 41 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near Custer County
Thomas County, NE 54 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Thomas County
Blaine County, NE 58 km (36 mi) NNE earthquakes near Blaine County
Lincoln County, NE 61 km (38 mi) SW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Dawson County, NE 71 km (44 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dawson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 10 km S of Arnold, Nebraska
  2. 2.1 5 km S of Arnold, Nebraska
  3. 2.6 8 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska
  4. 2.5 13 km WNW of Callaway, Nebraska
  5. 2.6 7 km WSW of Arnold, Nebraska
  6. 2.6 6 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska
  7. 2.7 4 km E of Arnold, Nebraska
  8. 3.6 7 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska
  9. 2.0 4 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska
  10. 2.8 11 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska
  11. 2.4 7 km S of Arnold, Nebraska
  12. 2.4 8 km SSE of Arnold, Nebraska
  13. 3.6 5 km ESE of Arnold, Nebraska
  14. 2.7 8 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska
  15. 3.8 2 km SE of Arnold, Nebraska

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.