QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Greybull, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Greybull in the 24 hours to 7:40 am MST (14:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 24 km (15 mi) E, at 12:57 am MDT on 23 March 2023, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Greybull

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) east-northeast of Greybull, WY, at 1:37 pm MDT on 15 May 2021 (19:37 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 5 km E of Shell, Wyoming

1:37 pm MDT, May 15, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Big Horn County 23 kmSheridan County 71 kmWashakie County 74 kmBig Horn County 98 kmJohnson County 105 kmHot Springs County 108 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
1:37 pm MDT on 15 May 2021 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) east-northeast of Greybull, WY · earthquakes near Greybull
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Big Horn County, 23 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1936 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Greybull, 28 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 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 44.5415, -107.7097. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Big Horn County, WY 23 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Big Horn County
Sheridan County, WY 71 km (44 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sheridan County
Washakie County, WY 74 km (46 mi) S earthquakes near Washakie County
Big Horn County, MT 98 km (61 mi) N earthquakes near Big Horn County
Johnson County, WY 105 km (65 mi) ESE earthquakes near Johnson County
Hot Springs County, WY 108 km (67 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hot Springs County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 5 km ESE of Manderson, Wyoming
  2. 2.8 8 km S of Shell, Wyoming
  3. 2.2 16 km ESE of Shell, 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.