QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

Earthquake near La Junta, CO

No earthquake was likely felt in La Junta in the 24 hours to 6:34 am MST (13:34 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 162 km (101 mi) SW, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near La Junta

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north-northeast of La Junta, CO, at 2:52 pm MST on 24 November 2019 (21:52 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 20 km WSW of Haswell, Colorado

2:52 pm MST, Nov 24, 2019 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Crowley County 35 kmKiowa County 55 kmBent County 58 kmOtero County 63 kmLincoln County 68 kmCheyenne County 85 kmPueblo County 99 kmProwers County 100 kmEl Paso County 110 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
2:52 pm MST on 24 November 2019 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) north-northeast of La Junta, CO · earthquakes near La Junta
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Crowley County, 35 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Cheraw fault, 10 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2462 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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In La Junta, 47 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 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 38.3893, -103.3897. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Crowley County, CO 35 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Crowley County
Kiowa County, CO 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Kiowa County
Bent County, CO 58 km (36 mi) SSE earthquakes near Bent County
Otero County, CO 63 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Otero County
Lincoln County, CO 68 km (42 mi) N earthquakes near Lincoln County
Cheyenne County, CO 85 km (53 mi) NE earthquakes near Cheyenne County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 18 km NW of Eads, Colorado
  2. 2.1 16 km WNW of Haswell, Colorado
  3. 2.2 15 km NW of Eads, Colorado
  4. 1.7 14 km E of Haswell, Colorado
  5. 2.5 23 km NE of Sugar City, Colorado
  6. 2.0 17 km NW of Eads, 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.