Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Bigfork, MT
USGS: 19 km E of Swan Lake, Montana
- When
- 2:12 am MDT on 10 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) ESE of Bigfork, MT · earthquakes near Bigfork
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Lake County, 50 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3826 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) ESE of Bigfork, MT, at 2:12 am MDT on 10 April 2016 (08:12 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 Western Montana · 18 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 47.9368, -113.5825. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, MT | 50 km (31 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Flathead County, MT | 53 km (33 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Flathead County |
| Glacier County, MT | 96 km (60 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Glacier County |
| Teton County, MT | 98 km (61 mi) | E | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Missoula County, MT | 104 km (64 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Missoula County |
| Pondera County, MT | 106 km (66 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Pondera 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.
- 1.9 4 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
- 1.6 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
- 1.5 10 km ENE of Condon, Montana
- 1.8 13 km E of Pablo, Montana
- 2.0 6 km ESE of Bear Dance, Montana
- 1.5 18 km E of Finley Point, Montana
- 1.7 19 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
- 2.0 21 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
- 1.9 12 km E of Finley Point, Montana
- 2.2 12 km ESE of Finley Point, Montana
- 1.6 12 km ESE of Finley Point, Montana
- 2.4 Western Montana
- 1.9 18 km E of Finley Point, Montana
- 2.0 2 km ESE of Bear Dance, Montana
- 2.3 14 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.