QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Salida, CO

No earthquake was likely felt in Salida in the 24 hours to 2:42 pm MST (21:42 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 184 km (114 mi) SSE, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salida

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west-southwest of Salida, CO, at 1:50 am MDT on 28 September 2021 (07:50 UTC), 6.2 km deep.

USGS: 9 km SSW of Garfield, Colorado

1:50 am MDT, Sep 28, 2021 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Chaffee County 30 kmSaguache County 49 kmGunnison County 68 kmFremont County 78 kmLake County 82 kmPark County 89 kmCuster County 92 kmPitkin County 98 kmTeller County 108 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
1:50 am MDT on 28 September 2021 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) west-southwest of Salida, CO · earthquakes near Salida
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Chaffee County, 30 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1803 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Salida, 29 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. 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 38.4685, -106.3166. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Chaffee County, CO 30 km (18 mi) N earthquakes near Chaffee County
Saguache County, CO 49 km (31 mi) S earthquakes near Saguache County
Gunnison County, CO 68 km (42 mi) WNW earthquakes near Gunnison County
Fremont County, CO 78 km (48 mi) E earthquakes near Fremont County
Lake County, CO 82 km (51 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County
Park County, CO 89 km (55 mi) NE earthquakes near Park County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.4 17 km NE of Saguache, 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.