QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Kalispell, MT

USGS: 12 km NNW of Niarada, Montana

2:43 pm MST, Dec 5, 2018 · · 12 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Kalispell Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sanders County 43 kmLake County 53 kmFlathead County 62 kmLincoln County 92 kmMineral County 93 kmShoshone County 111 kmMissoula County 115 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
2:43 pm MST on 5 December 2018 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) SW of Kalispell, MT · earthquakes near Kalispell
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sanders County, 43 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2858 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) SW of Kalispell, MT, at 2:43 pm MST on 5 December 2018 (21:43 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 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 47.9205, -114.6650. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sanders County, MT 43 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Lake County, MT 53 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near Lake County
Flathead County, MT 62 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lincoln County, MT 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Mineral County, MT 93 km (58 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mineral County
Shoshone County, ID 111 km (69 mi) SW earthquakes near Shoshone County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 19 km SW of Marion, Montana
  2. 2.3 18 km SW of Marion, Montana
  3. 2.0 19 km SW of Marion, Montana
  4. 1.6 1 km SSW of Dayton, Montana
  5. 1.8 12 km NE of Forest Hill Village, Montana
  6. 1.6 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  7. 2.1 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  8. 1.6 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  9. 2.2 7 km WNW of Lake Mary Ronan, Montana
  10. 1.7 7 km WNW of Lake Mary Ronan, Montana
  11. 1.8 6 km WNW of Lake Mary Ronan, Montana
  12. 1.7 21 km SSE of Happys Inn, Montana
  13. 1.6 16 km WSW of Kerr, Montana
  14. 2.0 17 km W of Niarada, Montana
  15. 1.8 3 km NW of Happys Inn, 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.