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United States · Illinois

M2.9 Earthquake near Lake County, Illinois (United States)

UTC time: 2026-07-08 19:38:43 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M2.9 earthquake was recorded near Lake County, Illinois (United States) on July 8, 2026 at 19:38 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 5 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by USGS. United States: 155 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.3.

Details

ID
286911b2ad984ad7ac1f016c4da3db153733b9ea
Magnitude
M2.9
Depth
5.0 km
UTC time
2026-07-08 19:38:43 UTC
Local time
—
Country
United States
State
Illinois
City
Lake County
County
Lake County
Source
usgs
Coordinates
42.18580, -87.50310
Temperature
19.8°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 5 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 5 km
Shallow
5 km
5 km — shallower than the regional average (15.2 km)
Regional average: 15.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Chicago O'Hare International AirportUnited States · ORD · KORD
    40.4 kmStraight-line distance
  • Chicago Midway International AirportUnited States · MDW · KMDW
    49.0 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-11-05

Nuclear power plants

  • Zion nuclear power plantUnited StatesPermanently shut downReactor units at site: 2
    38.0 kmStraight-line distance

Source: Global Energy Monitor · Global Nuclear Power Tracker · Dataset date: 2026-08

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

United States

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 11,838 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · United States

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Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · United States

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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