QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Beaver Dam, AZ

USGS: 19 km NW of Beaver Dam, Arizona

44 km (27 mi) W of St. George, UT · 139 km (87 mi) NE of Las Vegas, NV

1:59 pm MST, Feb 19, 2017 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washington County 57 kmLincoln County 97 kmIron County 118 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
1:59 pm MST on 19 February 2017 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) NW of Beaver Dam, AZ · earthquakes near Beaver Dam
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Washington County, 57 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3014 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) NW of Beaver Dam, AZ, at 1:59 pm MST on 19 February 2017 (20:59 UTC). 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mesquite, Scenic, Bunkerville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 38 km ESE of Caliente, Nevada · 44 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 42 km NNW 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 37.0370, -114.0647. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washington County, UT 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Washington County
Lincoln County, NV 97 km (60 mi) NW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Iron County, UT 118 km (73 mi) NE earthquakes near Iron County
Clark County, NV 125 km (77 mi) SW earthquakes near Clark County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 4 km NE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  2. 2.2 17 km S of Saint George, Utah
  3. 1.6 41 km WSW of Veyo, Utah
  4. 2.2 20 km NNW of Mesquite, Nevada
  5. 1.6 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  6. 1.7 17 km NW of Veyo, Utah
  7. 3.0 18 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  8. 1.9 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  9. 3.1 19 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  10. 2.6 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  11. 2.3 2 km NNE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  12. 1.7 6 km NNE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  13. 1.6 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  14. 2.9 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  15. 2.6 24 km ESE of Littlefield, Arizona

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.