Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Steamboat Springs, CO
No earthquake was likely felt in Steamboat Springs in the 24 hours to 2:18 pm MST (21:18 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 722 km (449 mi) SE, at 4:21 am MDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Steamboat Springs
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) north-northwest of Steamboat Springs, CO, at 1:24 am MDT on 31 March 2021 (07:24 UTC), 5.4 km deep.
USGS: 37 km NNW of Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- When
- 1:24 am MDT on 31 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) north-northwest of Steamboat Springs, CO · earthquakes near Steamboat Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Routt County, 36 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1982 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Steamboat Springs, CO
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Steamboat Springs, CO. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Steamboat Springs, 38 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 40.8098, -106.9677. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routt County, CO | 36 km (23 mi) | S | earthquakes near Routt County |
| Jackson County, CO | 56 km (35 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Carbon County, WY | 99 km (62 mi) | N | earthquakes near Carbon County |
| Grand County, CO | 106 km (66 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Grand County |
| Moffat County, CO | 108 km (67 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Moffat County |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 140 km (87 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Rio Blanco County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
5 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 13 km NW of Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- 2.0 16 km WNW of Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- 3.1 21 km NW of Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- 1.7 26 km W of Walden, Colorado
- 2.9 28 km ENE of Dixon, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.