QuakeIndex

mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

52 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming

No: USGS classifies this as a mining explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 3.1 mining explosion was recorded 52 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming, at 4:03 pm MST on 7 February 2019 (23:03 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

· 0.0 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Converse County 38 kmNiobrara County 74 kmWeston County 87 kmCampbell County 101 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
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Converse County, 38 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2757 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 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. 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 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 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 43.2920, -105.3309. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Converse County, WY 38 km (23 mi) SSW earthquakes near Converse County
Niobrara County, WY 74 km (46 mi) ESE earthquakes near Niobrara County
Weston County, WY 87 km (54 mi) NE earthquakes near Weston County
Campbell County, WY 101 km (63 mi) N earthquakes near Campbell County
Natrona County, WY 122 km (76 mi) WSW earthquakes near Natrona County
Johnson County, WY 131 km (82 mi) NW earthquakes near Johnson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 35 km SE of Wright, Wyoming
  2. 3.2 21 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming
  3. 3.3 25 km SE of Wright, Wyoming
  4. 3.2 28 km SE of Wright, Wyoming
  5. 2.9 14 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming
  6. 3.1 20 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming
  7. 3.0 14 km SSW of Wright, Wyoming
  8. 2.9 13 km E of Wright, Wyoming
  9. 3.0 25 km S of Wright, Wyoming
  10. 3.3 49 km SE of Wright, Wyoming
  11. 2.4 17 km SE of Wright, Wyoming
  12. 3.3 18 km S of Wright, Wyoming
  13. 3.1 Wyoming
  14. 3.3 16 km ESE of Wright, Wyoming
  15. 3.0 11 km ESE of Wright, 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.