QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Livingston, MT

USGS: 13 km SW of Springdale, Montana

53 km (33 mi) E of Bozeman, MT · 142 km (88 mi) W of Billings, MT

11:19 am MDT, Apr 21, 2016 · · 11 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Park County 26 kmSweet Grass County 37 kmGallatin County 64 kmStillwater County 77 kmWheatland County 101 kmMeagher County 111 kmBroadwater County 114 kmCarbon County 115 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
11:19 am MDT on 21 April 2016 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) E of Livingston, MT · earthquakes near Livingston
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Park County, 26 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3816 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) E of Livingston, MT, at 11:19 am MDT on 21 April 2016 (17:19 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 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 45.6635, -110.3687. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Park County, MT 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Park County
Sweet Grass County, MT 37 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sweet Grass County
Gallatin County, MT 64 km (40 mi) WSW earthquakes near Gallatin County
Stillwater County, MT 77 km (48 mi) E earthquakes near Stillwater County
Wheatland County, MT 101 km (63 mi) NNE earthquakes near Wheatland County
Meagher County, MT 111 km (69 mi) NNW earthquakes near Meagher County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.2 21 km ESE of Pray, Montana
  2. 1.8 23 km ENE of Wilsall, Montana
  3. 1.5 14 km NNW of Emigrant, Montana
  4. 1.6 7 km NNW of Emigrant, Montana
  5. 2.3 15 km E of Livingston, Montana
  6. 3.8 9 km NNW of Livingston, Montana
  7. 2.2 11 km NNW of Emigrant, Montana
  8. 2.3 14 km W of Livingston, Montana
  9. 1.7 13 km NW of Emigrant, Montana
  10. 1.9 10 km ESE of Bozeman, Montana
  11. 1.5 38 km W of Roscoe, Montana
  12. 1.8 19 km ENE of Clyde Park, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.