QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Afton, WY

No earthquake was likely felt in Afton in the 24 hours to 2:22 pm MST (21:22 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south of Afton, WY, at 7:28 pm MDT on 7 September 2023 (01:28 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 2 km N of Osmond, Wyoming

7:28 pm MDT, Sep 7, 2023 · · -3.4 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Caribou County 51 kmLincoln County 56 kmBear Lake County 57 kmSublette County 83 kmFranklin County 94 kmBonneville County 95 kmBannock County 106 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
7:28 pm MDT on 7 September 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south of Afton, WY · earthquakes near Afton
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
-3.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Caribou County, 51 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Grand Valley fault, under 1 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 1162 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Afton, 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 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 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 150,000 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 · 8 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 Southeastern Idaho · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 29 km WSW of Freedom, Idaho · 45 km WNW 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 42.7015, -110.9298. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Caribou County, ID 51 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Caribou County
Lincoln County, WY 56 km (35 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Bear Lake County, ID 57 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Sublette County, WY 83 km (52 mi) E earthquakes near Sublette County
Franklin County, ID 94 km (58 mi) SW earthquakes near Franklin County
Bonneville County, ID 95 km (59 mi) NW earthquakes near Bonneville County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 10 km NNW of Georgetown, Idaho
  2. 2.3 17 km W of Fairview, Wyoming
  3. 1.8 17 km WSW of Auburn, Wyoming
  4. 1.7 18 km WSW of Auburn, Wyoming
  5. 2.5 21 km E of Soda Springs, Idaho
  6. 2.6 5 km NNE of Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming
  7. 2.9 15 km WSW of Freedom, Idaho
  8. 1.5 14 km E of Soda Springs, Idaho
  9. 1.6 22 km ENE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  10. 2.8 22 km NNE of Georgetown, Idaho
  11. 3.2 20 km W of Fairview, Wyoming
  12. 2.6 11 km ENE of Georgetown, Idaho
  13. 3.0 11 km ENE of Georgetown, Idaho
  14. 1.6 15 km ENE of Bennington, Idaho
  15. 2.3 3 km NNE of Star Valley Ranch, 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.