QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6mb_lg

Earthquake near Dwight, IL

No earthquake was likely felt in Dwight in the 24 hours to 1:33 am CST (07:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 203 km (126 mi) SSW, at 1:27 am CST on 20 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,162 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dwight

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west of Dwight, IL, at 8:20 am CDT on 15 March 2025 (13:20 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 6 km W of Dwight, Illinois

56 km (35 mi) SSW of Joliet, IL · 108 km (67 mi) SW of Chicago, IL

8:20 am CDT, Mar 15, 2025 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Livingston County 22 kmGrundy County 24 kmLaSalle County 43 kmKankakee County 54 kmKendall County 56 kmFord County 59 kmWill County 59 kmIroquois County 67 kmPutnam County 68 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
8:20 am CDT on 15 March 2025 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west of Dwight, IL · earthquakes near Dwight
Illinois today
every earthquake in Illinois in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Livingston County, 22 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 544 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 51 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Dwight, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Gardner, Central City, Pontiac, Seneca, Streator, Coal City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 41.0864, -88.5009. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Livingston County, IL 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Livingston County
Grundy County, IL 24 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Grundy County
LaSalle County, IL 43 km (27 mi) NW earthquakes near LaSalle County
Kankakee County, IL 54 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Kankakee County
Kendall County, IL 56 km (35 mi) N earthquakes near Kendall County
Ford County, IL 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ford 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.