QuakeIndex

Fault · Montana, Wyoming

Red Canyon fault

29 kmlong (18 mi), as mapped
0.2–1 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
127quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 0.2 to 1 mm a year — 2 to 10 cm every century.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.2 in 1959 (The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake) — about 2,000,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 950 kilotons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 3 sections: Maple Creek section, Red Canyon section, Richards Creek section.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–1.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

Madison faultCentennial faultEmigrant faultEagle Bay faultBuffalo Fork faultMirror Plateau faultsEast Mount Sheridan faultsHebgen fault M 7.2 · 1959 · The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake M 6.3 · 1959 · 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming
The Red Canyon fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 127 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake
    August 18, 1959 · epicentre 2 km from the trace
  2. M 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming
    August 18, 1959 · epicentre 12 km from the trace
  3. M 4.4 12 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
    June 16, 2017 · epicentre 2 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.8 3 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
    2026-09-08 · 4 km from the trace
  2. M 2.8 16 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
    2025-07-30 · 5 km from the trace
  3. M 2.7 3 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
    2025-06-04 · 2 km from the trace
  4. M 2.6 3 km NW of West Yellowstone, Montana
    2024-07-20 · 9 km from the trace
  5. M 2.8 10 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
    2024-04-23 · 3 km from the trace
  6. M 2.6 10 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
    2024-04-23 · 3 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.