QuakeIndex

mine collapse · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9mb_lg

5 km WSW of Bolivar, Pennsylvania

· 1.0 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Westmoreland County 23 kmIndiana County 32 kmCambria County 44 kmSomerset County 47 kmArmstrong County 53 kmFayette County 63 kmAllegheny County 66 kmBedford County 74 kmBlair County 77 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 2.9 (mb_lg)
Depth
1.0 km below the surface
Felt
10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Westmoreland County, 23 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2114 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS catalogues this as mine collapse, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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.

Where

Epicentre 40.3800, -79.2074. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Westmoreland County, PA 23 km (14 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Westmoreland County
Indiana County, PA 32 km (20 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Indiana County
Cambria County, PA 44 km (28 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Cambria County
Somerset County, PA 47 km (29 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Somerset County
Armstrong County, PA 53 km (33 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Armstrong County
Fayette County, PA 63 km (39 mi) NE of here earthquakes near Fayette 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.