QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Afton, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Afton in the 24 hours to 10:29 pm MST (05:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 14 km (9 mi) W, at 3:44 pm MDT on 19 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Afton

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south of Afton, WY, at 2:50 pm MST on 8 February 2021 (21:50 UTC), 25 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NW of Smoot, Wyoming

2:50 pm MST, Feb 8, 2021 · · 25 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bear Lake County 50 kmCaribou County 51 kmLincoln County 51 kmSublette County 86 kmFranklin County 89 kmBonneville County 99 kmBannock County 104 kmRich County 116 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
2:50 pm MST on 8 February 2021 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) south of Afton, WY · earthquakes near Afton
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bear Lake County, 50 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Grand Valley fault, 3 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 2100 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Afton, 9 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.3 on 2017-09-02 — about 61,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km SSE of Auburn, Wyoming · 13 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 Southeastern Idaho · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 29 km WSW of Freedom, Idaho · 48 km NW 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 42.6463, -110.9530. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bear Lake County, ID 50 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Caribou County, ID 51 km (32 mi) WNW earthquakes near Caribou County
Lincoln County, WY 51 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Sublette County, WY 86 km (53 mi) E earthquakes near Sublette County
Franklin County, ID 89 km (55 mi) SW earthquakes near Franklin County
Bonneville County, ID 99 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Bonneville County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 18 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming
  2. 2.6 18 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming
  3. 1.8 18 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming
  4. 3.6 17 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming
  5. 1.7 southern Idaho
  6. 2.3 18 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming
  7. 2.8 18 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming
  8. 2.2 southern Idaho
  9. 1.6 12 km WNW of Fairview, Wyoming
  10. 1.8 7 km NW of Georgetown, Idaho
  11. 1.6 11 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  12. 1.6 southern Idaho
  13. 1.5 southern Idaho
  14. 1.7 19 km WSW of Fairview, Wyoming
  15. 2.3 10 km E of Soda Springs, Idaho

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.