QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Seeley Lake, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Seeley Lake in the 24 hours to 9:11 am MST (16:11 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 26 km (16 mi) ESE, at 8:34 pm MDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seeley Lake

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 35 km (21 mi) southeast of Seeley Lake, MT, at 11:51 pm MDT on 14 May 2019 (05:51 UTC), 9.6 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SSE of Ovando, Montana

11:51 pm MDT, May 14, 2019 · · 9.6 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seeley Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Powell County 22 kmLewis and Clark County 57 kmMissoula County 59 kmGranite County 71 kmDeer Lodge County 101 kmLake County 102 kmTeton County 111 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
11:51 pm MDT on 14 May 2019 ()
Where
35 km (21 mi) southeast of Seeley Lake, MT · earthquakes near Seeley Lake
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
9.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Powell County, 22 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2737 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Seeley Lake, 35 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 5.8 on 2017-07-06 — about 1,400,000 times the energy of this one.

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 46.9993, -113.1130. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Powell County, MT 22 km (14 mi) SE earthquakes near Powell County
Lewis and Clark County, MT 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County
Missoula County, MT 59 km (37 mi) W earthquakes near Missoula County
Granite County, MT 71 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Granite County
Deer Lodge County, MT 101 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Deer Lodge County
Lake County, MT 102 km (64 mi) NW earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 37 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  2. 2.2 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  3. 1.8 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  4. 2.2 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  5. 1.5 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  6. 1.9 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  7. 2.2 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  8. 1.9 5 km W of Lincoln, Montana
  9. 3.0 7 km WNW of Lincoln, Montana
  10. 2.3 25 km ENE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  11. 2.0 17 km ESE of Ovando, Montana
  12. 1.8 22 km ENE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  13. 1.8 16 km NNE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  14. 2.4 32 km WSW of Augusta, Montana
  15. 1.6 38 km WSW of Augusta, 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.