QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Seeley Lake, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Seeley Lake in the 24 hours to 9:50 am MST (16:50 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) southeast of Seeley Lake, MT, at 2:24 am MDT on 15 May 2019 (08:24 UTC), 7.8 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSE of Ovando, Montana

2:24 am MDT, May 15, 2019 · · 7.8 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seeley Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Powell County 23 kmLewis and Clark County 58 kmMissoula County 58 kmGranite County 72 kmLake County 101 kmDeer Lodge County 102 kmTeton County 110 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
2:24 am MDT on 15 May 2019 ()
Where
33 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 2.0 (ml)
Depth
7.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Powell County, 23 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Seeley Lake, 33 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 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 580,000 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 47.0080, -113.1252. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Powell County, MT 23 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Powell County
Lewis and Clark County, MT 58 km (36 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County
Missoula County, MT 58 km (36 mi) W earthquakes near Missoula County
Granite County, MT 72 km (45 mi) SSW earthquakes near Granite County
Lake County, MT 101 km (63 mi) NW earthquakes near Lake County
Deer Lodge County, MT 102 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Deer Lodge County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 37 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  2. 1.6 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  3. 2.8 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  4. 2.0 37 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  5. 2.2 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  6. 1.8 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  7. 2.2 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  8. 1.5 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  9. 1.9 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  10. 2.2 36 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  11. 1.9 5 km W of Lincoln, Montana
  12. 3.0 7 km WNW of Lincoln, Montana
  13. 2.3 25 km ENE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  14. 2.0 17 km ESE of Ovando, Montana
  15. 1.8 22 km ENE of Seeley Lake, 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.