QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

45 km ENE of Roy, Montana

Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 45 km ENE of Roy, Montana, at 12:51 am MST on 9 February 2017 (07:51 UTC), 14 km deep.

· 14 km deep · released about 58 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Petroleum County 43 kmFergus County 69 kmPhillips County 90 kmGarfield County 110 kmBlaine County 110 kmMusselshell County 111 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Petroleum County, 43 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3564 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 58 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 47.5070, -108.4172. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Petroleum County, MT 43 km (27 mi) SSE earthquakes near Petroleum County
Fergus County, MT 69 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fergus County
Phillips County, MT 90 km (56 mi) NNE earthquakes near Phillips County
Garfield County, MT 110 km (69 mi) ESE earthquakes near Garfield County
Blaine County, MT 110 km (69 mi) NNW earthquakes near Blaine County
Musselshell County, MT 111 km (69 mi) S earthquakes near Musselshell County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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.