QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Plummer, ID

USGS: 7 km SSE of Plummer, Idaho

62 km (39 mi) SE of Spokane, WA · 48 km (30 mi) S of Coeur d'Alene, ID

12:21 pm PDT, Oct 27, 2021 · · -0.9 km deep · released about 37 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Benewah County 17 kmKootenai County 47 kmLatah County 51 kmSpokane County 57 kmWhitman County 66 kmShoshone County 73 kmNez Perce County 104 kmGarfield County 107 kmClearwater County 113 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
12:21 pm PDT on 27 October 2021 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) SSE of Plummer, ID · earthquakes near Plummer
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
-0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Benewah County, 17 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1801 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) SSE of Plummer, ID, at 12:21 pm PDT on 27 October 2021 (19:21 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Saint Maries.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 37 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 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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 47.2695, -116.8510. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Benewah County, ID 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Benewah County
Kootenai County, ID 47 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kootenai County
Latah County, ID 51 km (32 mi) S earthquakes near Latah County
Spokane County, WA 57 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Spokane County
Whitman County, WA 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Whitman County
Shoshone County, ID 73 km (46 mi) E earthquakes near Shoshone County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 9 km ESE of Princeton, Idaho
  2. 2.1 4 km NW of Rockford Bay, Idaho
  3. 1.8 7 km SSW of Tekoa, Washington
  4. 1.6 7 km SSE of Saint Maries, Idaho
  5. 1.7 6 km SE of Spangle, Washington
  6. 1.6 3 km ESE of Veradale, Washington
  7. 1.7 4 km SSW of Liberty Lake, Washington
  8. 2.2 8 km SW of Potlatch, Idaho
  9. 1.6 13 km SSE of Liberty Lake, Washington
  10. 2.1 6 km N of Onaway, Idaho
  11. 2.0 3 km N of Harrison, Idaho
  12. 2.1 10 km SSW of Saint Maries, Idaho
  13. 1.9 4 km SSE of Saint Maries, Idaho
  14. 2.0 4 km E of Plummer, Idaho
  15. 2.3 11 km WNW of Deary, 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.