QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9mb_lg

6 km SW of Kit Carson, Colorado

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km SW of Kit Carson, Colorado, at 11:42 pm MDT on 14 June 2023 (05:42 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

· 5.0 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cheyenne County 24 kmKiowa County 37 kmLincoln County 66 kmKit Carson County 68 kmBent County 90 kmProwers County 93 kmGreeley County 93 kmCrowley County 94 kmWallace 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 1.9 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cheyenne County, 24 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Cheraw fault, 19 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 1179 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 20 km (12 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 38.7188, -102.8332. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cheyenne County, CO 24 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cheyenne County
Kiowa County, CO 37 km (23 mi) S earthquakes near Kiowa County
Lincoln County, CO 66 km (41 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Kit Carson County, CO 68 km (42 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kit Carson County
Bent County, CO 90 km (56 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bent County
Prowers County, CO 93 km (58 mi) SSE earthquakes near Prowers 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. 1.8 6 km SW of Eads, Colorado
  2. 1.6 12 km ESE of Eads, Colorado
  3. 2.4 18 km NW of Eads, 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.