QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Aspen, CO

No earthquake was likely felt in Aspen in the 24 hours to 8:19 am MST (15:19 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 293 km (182 mi) SE, at 1:55 am MDT on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Aspen

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) west-southwest of Aspen, CO, at 8:01 am MST on 13 November 2019 (15:01 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 3 km WNW of Crystal, Colorado

8:01 am MST, Nov 13, 2019 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pitkin County 25 kmGunnison County 45 kmDelta County 67 kmLake County 70 kmEagle County 73 kmChaffee County 81 kmGarfield County 89 kmSummit County 106 kmMesa County 114 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
8:01 am MST on 13 November 2019 ()
Where
31 km (19 mi) west-southwest of Aspen, CO · earthquakes near Aspen
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pitkin County, 25 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2471 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Aspen, 31 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Snowmass Village, Crested Butte.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 39.0670, -107.1364. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pitkin County, CO 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Pitkin County
Gunnison County, CO 45 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Gunnison County
Delta County, CO 67 km (42 mi) WSW earthquakes near Delta County
Lake County, CO 70 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lake County
Eagle County, CO 73 km (45 mi) NNE earthquakes near Eagle County
Chaffee County, CO 81 km (50 mi) ESE earthquakes near Chaffee County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 10 km NE of Redstone, Colorado
  2. 2.6 12 km S of Mulford, Colorado
  3. 1.9 6 km WNW of Snowmass Village, Colorado
  4. 1.5 13 km ENE of Paonia, Colorado
  5. 1.8 2 km NNW of El Jebel, Colorado
  6. 2.8 9 km E of Woody Creek, Colorado
  7. 2.0 6 km E of Basalt, Colorado
  8. 1.6 6 km E of Basalt, Colorado
  9. 1.5 5 km SSW of Carbondale, Colorado
  10. 1.9 11 km E of Paonia, Colorado
  11. 1.6 9 km ESE of Paonia, Colorado
  12. 1.8 11 km NNE of Paonia, Colorado
  13. 2.4 9 km NW of Mount Crested Butte, Colorado
  14. 1.9 10 km SE of Crystal, Colorado
  15. 2.1 3 km NNW of Mount Crested Butte, Colorado

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.