QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Lander, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Lander in the 24 hours to 8:29 am MST (15:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 43 km (27 mi) SE, at 5:38 pm MST on 12 December 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 50 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lander

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Lander, WY, at 5:14 am MDT on 14 October 2018 (11:14 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 26 km SW of Boulder Flats, Wyoming

5:14 am MDT, Oct 14, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lander Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 48 kmSublette County 69 kmHot Springs 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
5:14 am MDT on 14 October 2018 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Lander, WY · earthquakes near Lander
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 48 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2882 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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Lander, 28 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Lander 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 10 km W of Atlantic City, Wyoming · 36 km SSE of this epicentre

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 42.7782, -109.0654. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, WY 48 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Fremont County
Sublette County, WY 69 km (43 mi) W earthquakes near Sublette County
Hot Springs County, WY 117 km (72 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hot Springs County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 25 km SW of Fort Washakie, Wyoming
  2. 2.5 14 km W of Atlantic City, Wyoming
  3. 2.7 26 km WSW of Lander, Wyoming
  4. 3.1 29 km NE of Boulder, Wyoming
  5. 1.8 35 km SSW of Crowheart, 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.