QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Salmon, ID

USGS: 30 km NW of Leadore, Idaho

3:51 pm MDT, May 22, 2018 · · 7.4 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lemhi County 20 kmBeaverhead County 66 kmCuster County 82 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
3:51 pm MDT on 22 May 2018 ()
Where
39 km (25 mi) SSE of Salmon, ID · earthquakes near Salmon
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lemhi County, 20 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Beaverhead fault, 3 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 3055 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 39 km (25 mi) SSE of Salmon, ID, at 3:51 pm MDT on 22 May 2018 (21:51 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 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 44.8678, -113.6455. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lemhi County, ID 20 km (13 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lemhi County
Beaverhead County, MT 66 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near Beaverhead County
Custer County, ID 82 km (51 mi) SW earthquakes near Custer County
Clark County, ID 121 km (75 mi) ESE earthquakes near Clark County
Silver Bow County, MT 138 km (86 mi) NNE earthquakes near Silver Bow County
Jefferson County, ID 159 km (99 mi) SE earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 26 km WSW of Leadore, Idaho
  2. 1.9 18 km S of Salmon, Idaho
  3. 1.8 18 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
  4. 1.6 14 km ENE of Challis, Idaho
  5. 1.8 19 km E of Challis, Idaho
  6. 2.3 23 km E of Challis, Idaho
  7. 2.4 15 km NE of Challis, Idaho
  8. 2.0 12 km NNE of Salmon, Idaho
  9. 2.3 22 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
  10. 1.8 22 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
  11. 1.9 23 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
  12. 1.8 14 km S of Salmon, Idaho
  13. 1.5 21 km E of Challis, Idaho
  14. 2.0 16 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
  15. 1.8 13 km NE of Challis, Idaho

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.