Earthquake near Clifton, AZ

USGS: 7 km SW of Franklin, Arizona

8:22 am MST, Apr 12, 2016 · 2016-04-12 15:22 UTC · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

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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: 8:22 am MST on 12 April 2016 (2016-04-12 15:22 UTC)
Where: 48 km (30 mi) SSE of Clifton, AZ · earthquakes near Clifton
Magnitude: M 3.0 (ml)
Depth: 5.0 km below the surface
Felt: 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest: Greenlee County, 68 km N
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 1522 days ago · we first saw it 1522 days ago

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) SSE of Clifton, AZ, at 8:22 am MST on 12 April 2016 (15:22 UTC). 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

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.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

5.3 13 km SW of Franklin, Arizona · 6 km SSW of this epicentre Jun 29, 2014

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 32.6348, -109.1407. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Greenlee County, AZ	68 km (42 mi)	N	earthquakes near Greenlee County
Grant County, NM	72 km (45 mi)	E	earthquakes near Grant County
Graham County, AZ	76 km (48 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Graham County
Hidalgo County, NM	90 km (56 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Hidalgo County
Cochise County, AZ	107 km (66 mi)	SW	earthquakes near Cochise 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.

2.8 0 km NE of Clifton, Arizona 02:17 UTC
2.6 8 km W of San Simon, Arizona 03:48 UTC
2.9 10 km S of Franklin, Arizona 20:29 UTC
2.5 1 km SSE of Franklin, Arizona 03:01 UTC
2.5 16 km WSW of Lordsburg, New Mexico 17:49 UTC
3.3 3 km WSW of Franklin, Arizona 13:15 UTC
2.8 4 km SSW of Duncan, Arizona 11:59 UTC
2.7 3 km NNE of Franklin, Arizona 08:43 UTC
3.0 11 km S of Virden, New Mexico 05:52 UTC
3.1 15 km S of Virden, New Mexico 05:30 UTC
2.8 Arizona 06:37 UTC
2.7 6 km WSW of Franklin, Arizona 02:12 UTC
2.8 9 km SE of York, Arizona 03:39 UTC
3.2 9 km SSW of Franklin, Arizona 00:25 UTC
2.6 9 km WSW of Franklin, Arizona 12:25 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:12 UTC. 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.