QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

34 km NNE of Lowman, Idaho

Yes. A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 34 km NNE of Lowman, Idaho, at 1:40 am MST on 18 December 2020 (08:40 UTC), 12 km deep.

· 12 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Boise County 47 kmValley County 55 kmGem County 82 kmAdams County 96 kmCuster County 97 kmWashington County 106 kmElmore County 109 kmPayette County 110 kmCamas County 112 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
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Boise County, 47 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2084 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 6.5 on 2020-03-31 — about 500,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.1 37 km N of Stanley, Idaho · 50 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho · 40 km NE 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 44.3746, -115.4695. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Boise County, ID 47 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near Boise County
Valley County, ID 55 km (34 mi) NNW earthquakes near Valley County
Gem County, ID 82 km (51 mi) WSW earthquakes near Gem County
Adams County, ID 96 km (60 mi) NW earthquakes near Adams County
Custer County, ID 97 km (61 mi) E earthquakes near Custer County
Washington County, ID 106 km (66 mi) W earthquakes near Washington 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. 1.6 31 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  2. 2.3 32 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  3. 1.5 33 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  4. 1.9 5 km N of Stanley, Idaho
  5. 1.7 15 km SW of Stanley, Idaho
  6. 2.4 23 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  7. 1.7 34 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  8. 1.7 42 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  9. 1.9 21 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  10. 2.4 23 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  11. 2.8 11 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  12. 1.8 20 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  13. 1.8 southern Idaho
  14. 2.2 33 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  15. 1.9 24 km NW of Stanley, Idaho

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.