QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Cut Bank, MT

USGS: 32 km NNW of Santa Rita, Montana

9:28 pm MDT, Sep 7, 2018 · · -0.8 km deep · released about 24 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cut Bank Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glacier County 44 kmToole County 68 kmPondera County 84 kmLiberty County 118 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
9:28 pm MDT on 7 September 2018 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) NNW of Cut Bank, MT · earthquakes near Cut Bank
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
-0.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glacier County, 44 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2947 days ago

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) NNW of Cut Bank, MT, at 9:28 pm MDT on 7 September 2018 (03:28 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 24 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 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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 48.9592, -112.5275. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glacier County, MT 44 km (27 mi) SW earthquakes near Glacier County
Toole County, MT 68 km (42 mi) ESE earthquakes near Toole County
Pondera County, MT 84 km (52 mi) SSE earthquakes near Pondera County
Liberty County, MT 118 km (73 mi) ESE earthquakes near Liberty County
Flathead County, MT 134 km (83 mi) WSW earthquakes near Flathead County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 40 km SSE of Magrath, Canada
  2. 1.5 12 km WSW of Sunburst, Montana
  3. 1.6 9 km ESE of Cut Bank, Montana
  4. 2.0 43 km NNW of Santa Rita, Montana
  5. 2.4 38 km NNW of Santa Rita, Montana
  6. 1.9 40 km SSE of Magrath, Canada
  7. 1.5 20 km NW of Santa Rita, Montana
  8. 2.7 17 km NNW of Santa Rita, Montana
  9. 1.8 11 km NNE of Santa Rita, Montana
  10. 2.3 13 km NNE of Santa Rita, Montana
  11. 1.6 16 km NNE of Santa Rita, Montana
  12. 2.3 18 km NNE of Santa Rita, Montana
  13. 2.0 17 km W of Sunburst, Montana
  14. 2.0 Alberta, Canada
  15. 1.9 35 km SE of Cardston, Canada

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.