QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Colorado

Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded in Colorado, at 10:47 pm MDT on 5 November 2022 (04:47 UTC), 9.4 km deep. 27 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 9.4 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ouray County 1 kmSan Juan County 42 kmHinsdale County 51 kmMontrose County 51 kmSan Miguel County 59 kmDolores County 79 kmDelta County 80 kmGunnison County 85 kmMineral County 95 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
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
9.4 km below the surface
Felt
27 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Ouray County, 1 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Busted Boiler fault, 5 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1390 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 16 km (10 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ouray, Telluride, Mountain Village.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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:

  1. 5.5 15 km E of Colona, Colorado · 23 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 38.1492, -107.7778. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ouray County, CO 1 km (1 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ouray County
San Juan County, CO 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Juan County
Hinsdale County, CO 51 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Hinsdale County
Montrose County, CO 51 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Montrose County
San Miguel County, CO 59 km (37 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Miguel County
Dolores County, CO 79 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Dolores County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 15 km SSW of Sawpit, Colorado
  2. 2.5 12 km SE of Silverton, Colorado
  3. 1.8 16 km WSW of Loghill Village, Colorado
  4. 2.1 14 km S of Ophir, Colorado
  5. 2.2 16 km S of Ophir, Colorado
  6. 3.6 16 km S of Ophir, 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.