mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Kemmerer, WY
No earthquake was likely felt in Kemmerer in the 24 hours to 5:21 am MST (12:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 61 km (38 mi) E, at 11:25 pm MDT on 11 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Kemmerer
No: USGS classifies this as a mining explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.7 mining explosion was recorded 10 km (6 mi) west-northwest of Kemmerer, WY, at 1:38 pm MDT on 18 March 2016 (19:38 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 10 km WNW of Kemmerer, Wyoming
- When
- 1:38 pm MDT on 18 March 2016 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) west-northwest of Kemmerer, WY · earthquakes near Kemmerer
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Lincoln County, 45 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Rock Creek fault, 14 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3809 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kemmerer, WY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Kemmerer, WY. No account or email needed.
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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Kemmerer, 10 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.
USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 41.8222, -110.6565. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, WY | 45 km (28 mi) | N | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Rich County, UT | 53 km (33 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Rich County |
| Uinta County, WY | 60 km (37 mi) | S | earthquakes near Uinta County |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 76 km (47 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Bear Lake County |
| Cache County, UT | 91 km (56 mi) | W | earthquakes near Cache County |
| Franklin County, ID | 104 km (65 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Franklin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 19 km NE of Bear River, Wyoming
- 1.7 14 km SW of La Barge, Wyoming
- 2.8 10 km N of Bear River, Wyoming
- 1.6 14 km SW of Calpet, Wyoming
- 2.1 1 km WSW of Diamondville, Wyoming
- 2.6 18 km W of Fontenelle, Wyoming
- 1.9 10 km W of Diamondville, Wyoming
- 1.6 19 km SSW of Calpet, Wyoming
- 1.6 17 km W of Kemmerer, Wyoming
- 2.6 20 km NE of Randolph, Utah
- 2.1 10 km ESE of Randolph, Utah
- 2.7 15 km W of Diamondville, Wyoming
- 2.4 10 km SW of Oakley, Wyoming
- 1.8 5 km W of Diamondville, Wyoming
- 2.0 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
- 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.