Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Trinidad, CO
No earthquake was likely felt in Trinidad in the 24 hours to 9:10 am MST (16:10 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Trinidad, CO, at 8:17 pm MDT on 14 March 2023 (02:17 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 10 km N of Segundo, Colorado
- When
- 8:17 pm MDT on 14 March 2023 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Trinidad, CO · earthquakes near Trinidad
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Huerfano County, 56 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1271 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Trinidad, CO
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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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Trinidad, 22 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4.3 on 2023-03-10 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 6 km S of Valdez, Colorado · 18 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 20 km S of Weston, Colorado · 31 km SSW 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 37.2183, -104.7462. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huerfano County, CO | 56 km (34 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Huerfano County |
| Costilla County, CO | 61 km (38 mi) | W | earthquakes near Costilla County |
| Las Animas County, CO | 63 km (39 mi) | E | earthquakes near Las Animas County |
| Colfax County, NM | 68 km (42 mi) | S | earthquakes near Colfax County |
| Alamosa County, CO | 100 km (62 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alamosa County |
| Taos County, NM | 107 km (66 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Taos County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 7 km N of El Moro, Colorado
- 4.1 Colorado
- 3.4 7 km NNW of El Moro, Colorado
- 1.6 11 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.3 8 km N of El Moro, Colorado
- 1.5 16 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.7 16 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.6 21 km S of Segundo, Colorado
- 1.7 15 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.9 30 km S of Sequndo, Colorado
- 1.5 32 km S of Segundo, Colorado
- 2.8 8 km N of El Moro, Colorado
- 3.2 6 km NW of El Moro, Colorado
- 2.3 7 km N of El Moro, Colorado
- 2.1 10 km SW of Weston, 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
- 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.