mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Gillette, WY
No earthquake was likely felt in Gillette in the 24 hours to 8:21 pm MST (03:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 45 km (28 mi) SSE, at 2:13 pm MDT on 6 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Gillette
No: USGS classifies this as a mining explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.4 mining explosion was recorded 34 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Gillette, WY, at 10:07 am MDT on 5 June 2022 (16:07 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 33 km NNW of Gillette, Wyoming
- When
- 10:07 am MDT on 5 June 2022 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Gillette, WY · earthquakes near Gillette
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Campbell County, 44 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1551 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gillette, WY
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Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Gillette, 34 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.
USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 37 km W of Gillette, Wyoming · 47 km SW 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 44.5830, -105.6277. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell County, WY | 44 km (28 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Campbell County |
| Crook County, WY | 84 km (52 mi) | E | earthquakes near Crook County |
| Powder River County, MT | 92 km (57 mi) | N | earthquakes near Powder River County |
| Johnson County, WY | 97 km (60 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Johnson County |
| Sheridan County, WY | 102 km (63 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Sheridan County |
| Weston County, WY | 118 km (73 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Weston County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 2 km WSW of Gillette, Wyoming
- 2.8 6 km SSE of Sleepy Hollow, Wyoming
- 2.7 19 km NNE of Gillette, Wyoming
- 2.6 17 km NNE of Gillette, Wyoming
- 2.8 9 km NW of Gillette, Wyoming
- 2.5 3 km NNE of Gillette, Wyoming
- 3.1 7 km SE of Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming
- 2.8 10 km NNW of Gillette, Wyoming
- 3.0 18 km N of Gillette, Wyoming
- 3.1 9 km NNW of Gillette, Wyoming
- 2.9 13 km NNE of Gillette, Wyoming
- 3.0 22 km N of Gillette, Wyoming
- 2.5 12 km NE of Sleepy Hollow, Wyoming
- 2.9 0 km W of Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming
- 3.0 4 km NNW of Sleepy Hollow, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.