QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Afton, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Afton in the 24 hours to 4:18 am MST (11:18 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Afton, WY, at 6:08 pm MST on 7 February 2023 (01:08 UTC), 6.8 km deep.

USGS: 4 km W of Smoot, Wyoming

6:08 pm MST, Feb 7, 2023 · · 6.8 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bear Lake County 47 kmLincoln County 49 kmCaribou County 50 kmFranklin County 86 kmSublette County 88 kmBonneville County 101 kmBannock County 103 kmRich County 112 kmCache County 117 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
6:08 pm MST on 7 February 2023 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Afton, WY · earthquakes near Afton
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bear Lake County, 47 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Grand Valley 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 1374 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Afton, 12 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 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 230,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km SSE of Auburn, Wyoming · 16 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 29 km WSW of Freedom, Idaho · 49 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 42.6173, -110.9722. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bear Lake County, ID 47 km (29 mi) SW earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Lincoln County, WY 49 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Caribou County, ID 50 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Caribou County
Franklin County, ID 86 km (53 mi) SW earthquakes near Franklin County
Sublette County, WY 88 km (55 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sublette County
Bonneville County, ID 101 km (63 mi) NNW earthquakes near Bonneville County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 6 km W of Thayne, Wyoming
  2. 1.9 13 km SW of Fairview, Wyoming
  3. 2.6 13 km SW of Fairview, Wyoming
  4. 2.1 7 km NW of Georgetown, Idaho
  5. 2.7 6 km E of Etna, Wyoming
  6. 2.5 8 km E of Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming
  7. 2.4 8 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  8. 2.2 12 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  9. 1.7 13 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  10. 1.8 10 km SW of Georgetown, Idaho
  11. 2.2 10 km SW of Georgetown, Idaho
  12. 1.9 8 km N of Georgetown, Idaho
  13. 2.6 18 km WNW of Auburn, Wyoming
  14. 2.7 15 km WSW of Auburn, Wyoming
  15. 2.5 14 km W of Fairview, 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.