Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0mb_lg
Earthquake near Gothenburg, NE
No earthquake was likely felt in Gothenburg in the 24 hours to 12:53 am CST (06:53 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 564 km (350 mi) S, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gothenburg
This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) north of Gothenburg, NE, at 10:47 am CST on 13 December 2018 (16:47 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10 km S of Arnold, Nebraska
- When
- 10:47 am CST on 13 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) north of Gothenburg, NE · earthquakes near Gothenburg
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Logan County, 31 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2825 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gothenburg, NE
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Gothenburg, NE. 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 73 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Gothenburg, 45 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: Broken Bow 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2018-06-30 — about 45 times the energy of this one.
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 41.3296, -100.1990. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan County, NE | 31 km (19 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Logan County |
| Custer County, NE | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near Custer County |
| Lincoln County, NE | 55 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Dawson County, NE | 61 km (38 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Dawson County |
| Thomas County, NE | 64 km (40 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Thomas County |
| Blaine County, NE | 69 km (43 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Blaine County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.