QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Worland, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Worland in the 24 hours to 4:53 pm MST (23:53 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 18 km (11 mi) SSW, at 2:29 pm MDT on 2 November 2022, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Worland

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) southeast of Worland, WY, at 3:08 am MDT on 1 September 2020 (09:08 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 30 km SSW of Ten Sleep, Wyoming

3:08 am MDT, Sep 1, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washakie County 12 kmHot Springs County 67 kmJohnson County 87 kmBig Horn County 88 kmNatrona County 112 kmFremont County 114 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
3:08 am MDT on 1 September 2020 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) southeast of Worland, WY · earthquakes near Worland
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washakie County, 12 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2195 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Worland, 38 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 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 4.0 on 2017-11-03 — about 63 times the energy of this one.

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 43.7799, -107.6074. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washakie County, WY 12 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Washakie County
Hot Springs County, WY 67 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Hot Springs County
Johnson County, WY 87 km (54 mi) ENE earthquakes near Johnson County
Big Horn County, WY 88 km (55 mi) NNW earthquakes near Big Horn County
Natrona County, WY 112 km (70 mi) SE earthquakes near Natrona County
Fremont County, WY 114 km (71 mi) SW earthquakes near Fremont County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 17 km ESE of Lucerne, Wyoming
  2. 2.6 10 km SSE of Ten Sleep, Wyoming
  3. 3.7 Wyoming
  4. 3.3 Wyoming
  5. 2.3 56 km ESE of East Thermopolis, Wyoming
  6. 2.6 28 km SSE of Ten Sleep, Wyoming
  7. 3.6 43 km S of Ten Sleep, Wyoming
  8. 3.9 51 km S of Ten Sleep, Wyoming

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.