QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Williams, AZ

USGS: 16 km NW of Ash Fork, Arizona

7:40 am MST, Dec 30, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yavapai County 77 kmCoconino County 94 kmMohave County 112 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
7:40 am MST on 30 December 2018 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) WNW of Williams, AZ · earthquakes near Williams
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Yavapai County, 77 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Seligman fault, 11 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 1517 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) WNW of Williams, AZ, at 7:40 am MST on 30 December 2018 (14:40 UTC). 1 person has 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 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 35.3243, -112.6130. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yavapai County, AZ 77 km (48 mi) S earthquakes near Yavapai County
Coconino County, AZ 94 km (59 mi) NE earthquakes near Coconino County
Mohave County, AZ 112 km (69 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mohave County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 9 km WSW of Williams, Arizona
  2. 2.9 27 km SW of Valle, Arizona
  3. 2.7 28 km SW of Valle, Arizona
  4. 3.2 17 km NW of Ash Fork, Arizona

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.