QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Kemmerer, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Kemmerer in the 24 hours to 12:18 am MST (07:18 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 61 km (38 mi) E, at 11:25 pm MDT on 11 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Kemmerer

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.1 quarry blast was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Kemmerer, WY, at 12:32 pm MST on 17 February 2022 (19:32 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 1 km WSW of Diamondville, Wyoming

12:32 pm MST, Feb 17, 2022 · · -2.0 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 52 kmUinta County 54 kmRich County 59 kmBear Lake County 85 kmCache County 99 kmSummit County 106 kmFranklin County 114 kmMorgan County 114 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
12:32 pm MST on 17 February 2022 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Kemmerer, WY · earthquakes near Kemmerer
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
-2.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 52 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Rock Creek fault, 23 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 1728 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Kemmerer, 3 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 quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 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 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× 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 43 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 41.7730, -110.5573. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, WY 52 km (32 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Uinta County, WY 54 km (34 mi) S earthquakes near Uinta County
Rich County, UT 59 km (37 mi) WSW earthquakes near Rich County
Bear Lake County, ID 85 km (53 mi) NW earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Cache County, UT 99 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Cache County
Summit County, UT 106 km (66 mi) SSW earthquakes near Summit County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 19 km NE of Bear River, Wyoming
  2. 1.7 14 km SW of La Barge, Wyoming
  3. 2.3 9 km WNW of Fort Bridger, Wyoming
  4. 1.6 14 km SW of Calpet, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.