QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Palisade, CO

No earthquake was likely felt in Palisade in the 24 hours to 2:51 pm MST (21:51 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 742 km (461 mi) ESE, at 4:21 am MDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Palisade

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) east-northeast of Palisade, CO, at 12:09 am MST on 11 November 2021 (07:09 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 15 km ENE of Palisade, Colorado

34 km (21 mi) ENE of Grand Junction, CO

12:09 am MST, Nov 11, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mesa County 29 kmDelta County 44 kmGarfield County 54 kmMontrose County 84 kmRio Blanco County 90 kmPitkin County 110 kmGunnison County 112 kmOuray County 117 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
12:09 am MST on 11 November 2021 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) east-northeast of Palisade, CO · earthquakes near Palisade
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mesa County, 29 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1761 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 Palisade, 15 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Clifton, Fruitvale.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 39.1637, -108.1863. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mesa County, CO 29 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Mesa County
Delta County, CO 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Delta County
Garfield County, CO 54 km (34 mi) NNE earthquakes near Garfield County
Montrose County, CO 84 km (52 mi) S earthquakes near Montrose County
Rio Blanco County, CO 90 km (56 mi) N earthquakes near Rio Blanco County
Pitkin County, CO 110 km (68 mi) E earthquakes near Pitkin County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 15 km WSW of Collbran, Colorado
  2. 2.0 14 km NE of Fruita, Colorado
  3. 2.8 29 km WNW of De Beque, Colorado
  4. 1.9 19 km SSE of Orchard Mesa, Colorado
  5. 1.5 28 km NW of De Beque, 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.