QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Whitefish, MT

USGS: 2 km SW of Olney, Montana

2:45 pm MST, Dec 10, 2017 · · 13 km deep · released about 22 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Whitefish Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 48 kmLincoln County 64 kmSanders County 96 kmLake County 106 kmGlacier County 120 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
2:45 pm MST on 10 December 2017 ()
Where
23 km (15 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT · earthquakes near Whitefish
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Flathead County, 48 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3217 days ago

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 23 km (15 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT, at 2:45 pm MST on 10 December 2017 (21:45 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 22 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 680,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 480,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 43× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 22 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 48.5307, -114.5987. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 48 km (30 mi) ESE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lincoln County, MT 64 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near Lincoln County
Sanders County, MT 96 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Lake County, MT 106 km (66 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County
Glacier County, MT 120 km (74 mi) E earthquakes near Glacier County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 6 km NNE of Olney, Montana
  2. 2.0 1 km ENE of Columbia Falls, Montana
  3. 1.6 Western Montana
  4. 1.7 11 km NW of Batavia, Montana
  5. 2.2 16 km ENE of Happys Inn, Montana
  6. 1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana
  7. 1.6 13 km WNW of Marion, Montana
  8. 1.7 18 km NW of Marion, Montana
  9. 2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana
  10. 1.9 3 km NNW of Coram, Montana
  11. 1.6 10 km SSW of Whitefish, Montana
  12. 2.6 7 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  13. 3.2 19 km ENE of Stryker, Montana
  14. 2.1 4 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  15. 3.2 3 km S of Columbia Falls, 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.