QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4mb_lg

Earthquake near Trinidad, CO

No earthquake was likely felt in Trinidad in the 24 hours to 7:09 am MST (14:09 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 45 km (28 mi) WSW, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Trinidad

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) southwest of Trinidad, CO, at 8:36 pm MST on 23 February 2023 (03:36 UTC), 6.3 km deep.

USGS: 18 km S of Weston, Colorado

8:36 pm MST, Feb 23, 2023 · · 6.3 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Trinidad Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Colfax County 43 kmCostilla County 62 kmHuerfano County 81 kmTaos County 82 kmLas Animas County 82 kmAlamosa County 106 kmMora County 109 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
8:36 pm MST on 23 February 2023 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) southwest of Trinidad, CO · earthquakes near Trinidad
Magnitude
M 2.4 (mb_lg)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Colfax County, 43 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1028 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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Trinidad, 39 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Raton 38 km, intensity II · Trinidad 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4.2 on 2016-12-23 — about 500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 6 km S of Valdez, Colorado · 18 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 20 km S of Weston, Colorado · 3 km SE 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 36.9619, -104.8580. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Colfax County, NM 43 km (27 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colfax County
Costilla County, CO 62 km (38 mi) NW earthquakes near Costilla County
Huerfano County, CO 81 km (50 mi) N earthquakes near Huerfano County
Taos County, NM 82 km (51 mi) WSW earthquakes near Taos County
Las Animas County, CO 82 km (51 mi) ENE earthquakes near Las Animas County
Alamosa County, CO 106 km (66 mi) NW earthquakes near Alamosa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 7 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  2. 1.6 8 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  3. 1.6 7 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  4. 1.5 6 km NNW of El Moro, Colorado
  5. 3.3 24 km S of Weston, Colorado
  6. 2.0 24 km S of Weston, Colorado
  7. 3.4 8 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  8. 3.3 33 km WSW of Raton, New Mexico
  9. 1.5 27 km S of Segundo, Colorado
  10. 2.7 7 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  11. 2.8 7 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  12. 1.7 Colorado
  13. 2.1 7 km N of Segundo, Colorado
  14. 1.6 6 km W of El Moro, Colorado
  15. 1.5 6 km NNW of Segundo, 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.