Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Kalispell, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Kalispell in the 24 hours to 3:03 pm MST (22:03 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 22 km (13 mi) NNW, at 1:53 am MST on 1 March 2021, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kalispell
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 36 km (23 mi) south of Kalispell, MT, at 12:18 am MST on 20 February 2017 (07:18 UTC), 3.3 km deep. 29 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 0 km WNW of Dayton, Montana
- When
- 12:18 am MST on 20 February 2017 ()
- Where
- 36 km (23 mi) south of Kalispell, MT · earthquakes near Kalispell
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 29 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Lake County, 30 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mission fault, 6 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 2008 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kalispell, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Kalispell, MT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Kalispell, 36 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.
Likely felt in: Polson 22 km, intensity III · Kalispell 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 99,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,400× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.7 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.6× more
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 · 39 km ENE 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 47.8697, -114.2900. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, MT | 30 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Flathead County, MT | 51 km (31 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Flathead County |
| Sanders County, MT | 68 km (42 mi) | W | earthquakes near Sanders County |
| Missoula County, MT | 98 km (61 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Missoula County |
| Mineral County, MT | 102 km (63 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Lincoln County, MT | 115 km (72 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 3 km E of Forest Hill Village, Montana
- 2.5 2 km WSW of Bear Dance, Montana
- 1.9 4 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
- 1.9 11 km SE of Hot Springs, Montana
- 1.6 20 km E of Finley Point, 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
- 1.9 8 km NNW of Niarada, Montana
- 1.7 19 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
- 1.9 18 km E of Finley Point, Montana
- 2.0 2 km ESE of Bear Dance, 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.