QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Thompson Falls, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Thompson Falls in the 24 hours to 6:56 pm MST (01:56 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 37 km (23 mi) WSW, at 11:03 pm MST on 10 February 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 93 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Thompson Falls

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) southwest of Thompson Falls, MT, at 10:11 am MST on 12 February 2019 (17:11 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 14 km SW of Thompson Falls, Montana

10:11 am MST, Feb 12, 2019 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sanders County 35 kmShoshone County 35 kmMineral County 53 kmKootenai County 92 kmBenewah County 92 kmClearwater County 95 kmLake County 106 kmLincoln 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
10:11 am MST on 12 February 2019 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) southwest of Thompson Falls, MT · earthquakes near Thompson Falls
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sanders County, 35 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2828 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Thompson Falls, 14 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 47.5205, -115.4893. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sanders County, MT 35 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Sanders County
Shoshone County, ID 35 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Shoshone County
Mineral County, MT 53 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near Mineral County
Kootenai County, ID 92 km (57 mi) WNW earthquakes near Kootenai County
Benewah County, ID 92 km (57 mi) WSW earthquakes near Benewah County
Clearwater County, ID 95 km (59 mi) S earthquakes near Clearwater County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.0 1 km WSW of Wallace, Idaho
  2. 2.3 3 km WSW of Wallace, Idaho
  3. 1.6 2 km SSE of Osburn, Idaho
  4. 2.3 1 km E of Mullan, Idaho
  5. 1.6 0 km ENE of Mullan, Idaho
  6. 3.3 2 km NNW of Mullan, Idaho
  7. 1.6 1 km E of Mullan, Idaho
  8. 1.9 0 km SE of Mullan, Idaho
  9. 1.7 1 km E of Mullan, Idaho
  10. 1.6 0 km E of Mullan, Idaho
  11. 2.0 1 km SE of Mullan, Idaho
  12. 2.4 1 km NNE of Mullan, Idaho
  13. 2.1 3 km SW of Wallace, Idaho
  14. 1.5 1 km SE of Mullan, Idaho
  15. 2.2 0 km NNE of Mullan, 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.