QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Pablo, MT

USGS: 8 km E of Pablo, Montana

2:11 am MDT, Apr 23, 2016 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 8 kmMissoula County 64 kmFlathead County 78 kmSanders County 90 kmMineral County 96 kmPowell County 117 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
2:11 am MDT on 23 April 2016 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) E of Pablo, MT · earthquakes near Pablo
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 8 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3814 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) E of Pablo, MT, at 2:11 am MDT on 23 April 2016 (08:11 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ronan, Polson.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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:

  1. 5.5 Western Montana · 48 km NNE 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 47.5943, -114.0085. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, MT 8 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Lake County
Missoula County, MT 64 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Missoula County
Flathead County, MT 78 km (48 mi) N earthquakes near Flathead County
Sanders County, MT 90 km (56 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sanders County
Mineral County, MT 96 km (60 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mineral County
Powell County, MT 117 km (72 mi) SE earthquakes near Powell County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 11 km SE of Hot Springs, Montana
  2. 1.6 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  3. 1.5 10 km ENE of Condon, Montana
  4. 1.8 13 km E of Pablo, Montana
  5. 2.0 6 km ESE of Bear Dance, Montana
  6. 1.5 18 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  7. 1.7 19 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  8. 1.9 5 km WSW of Condon, Montana
  9. 2.0 21 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  10. 1.9 12 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  11. 2.2 12 km ESE of Finley Point, Montana
  12. 1.6 12 km ESE of Finley Point, Montana
  13. 1.9 18 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  14. 2.2 10 km NNW of Old Agency, Montana
  15. 1.9 9 km NNW of Old Agency, 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.