QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Whitehall, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Whitehall in the 24 hours to 10:34 am MST (17:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 21 km (13 mi) SW, at 3:27 am MDT on 25 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Whitehall

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) south of Whitehall, MT, at 2:21 pm MST on 13 December 2017 (21:21 UTC), 1.8 km deep.

USGS: 17 km S of Whitehall, Montana

2:21 pm MST, Dec 13, 2017 · · 1.8 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Whitehall Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jefferson County 46 kmSilver Bow County 46 kmMadison County 47 kmGallatin County 78 kmBroadwater County 84 kmBeaverhead County 88 kmDeer Lodge County 89 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
2:21 pm MST on 13 December 2017 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) south of Whitehall, MT · earthquakes near Whitehall
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
1.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jefferson County, 46 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3255 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Whitehall, 17 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: Whitehall 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-09-03 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 Near Butte, Montana · 43 km NW 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 45.7177, -112.1260. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jefferson County, MT 46 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Jefferson County
Silver Bow County, MT 46 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Silver Bow County
Madison County, MT 47 km (29 mi) SSE earthquakes near Madison County
Gallatin County, MT 78 km (48 mi) ESE earthquakes near Gallatin County
Broadwater County, MT 84 km (52 mi) NE earthquakes near Broadwater County
Beaverhead County, MT 88 km (55 mi) SW earthquakes near Beaverhead 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. 2.4 6 km W of Willow Creek, Montana
  2. 1.9 5 km ESE of Walkerville, Montana
  3. 1.6 5 km E of Butte, Montana
  4. 1.5 5 km ESE of Walkerville, Montana
  5. 1.7 5 km W of Butte, MT
  6. 1.6 13 km WNW of Whitehall, Montana
  7. 1.5 5 km ESE of Walkerville, Montana
  8. 2.4 4 km E of Walkerville, Montana
  9. 2.2 17 km S of Whitehall, Montana
  10. 1.5 4 km E of Butte, Montana
  11. 1.6 17 km S of Whitehall, Montana
  12. 1.7 4 km E of Butte, Montana
  13. 1.9 17 km S of Whitehall, Montana
  14. 2.4 16 km WNW of Pony, Montana
  15. 1.8 17 km S of Whitehall, 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.