QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

27 km N of Lowman, Idaho

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 27 km N of Lowman, Idaho, 97 km (60 mi) NNE of Boise City, ID, at 2:37 am MDT on 19 August 2020 (08:37 UTC), 10 km deep.

97 km (60 mi) NNE of Boise City, ID

· 10 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Boise County 40 kmValley County 58 kmGem County 72 kmAdams County 92 kmWashington County 98 kmPayette County 100 kmElmore County 105 kmCuster County 106 kmAda 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
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Boise County, 40 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2203 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 17 km (11 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 6.5 on 2020-03-31 — about 2,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho · 50 km NE of this epicentre

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 44.3337, -115.5795. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Boise County, ID 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Boise County
Valley County, ID 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Valley County
Gem County, ID 72 km (45 mi) WSW earthquakes near Gem County
Adams County, ID 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Adams County
Washington County, ID 98 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Washington County
Payette County, ID 100 km (62 mi) WSW earthquakes near Payette County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 34 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  2. 2.0 21 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  3. 2.5 41 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  4. 2.4 16 km SW of Stanley, Idaho
  5. 2.3 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  6. 2.5 43 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  7. 2.4 26 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  8. 1.6 26 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  9. 1.6 19 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  10. 2.3 43 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  11. 2.5 45 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  12. 1.9 39 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  13. 2.4 24 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  14. 2.2 22 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  15. 1.8 22 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho

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.