Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Salmon, ID
No earthquake was likely felt in Salmon in the 24 hours to 7:12 pm MST (02:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 102 km (64 mi) S, at 11:05 am MDT on 8 June 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 27 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salmon
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 43 km (26 mi) west-southwest of Salmon, ID, at 6:45 pm MDT on 18 May 2019 (00:45 UTC), 3.5 km deep.
USGS: Idaho-Montana border region
- When
- 6:45 pm MDT on 18 May 2019 ()
- Where
- 43 km (26 mi) west-southwest of Salmon, ID · earthquakes near Salmon
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Lemhi County, 44 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2734 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salmon, ID
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Salmon, ID. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Salmon, 43 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 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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.
Where
Epicentre 45.0610, -114.4128. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemhi County, ID | 44 km (27 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Lemhi County |
| Custer County, ID | 88 km (55 mi) | S | earthquakes near Custer County |
| Valley County, ID | 98 km (61 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Valley County |
| Ravalli County, MT | 116 km (72 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Ravalli County |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 120 km (74 mi) | E | earthquakes near Beaverhead County |
| Idaho County, ID | 120 km (75 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Idaho County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 33 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.5 33 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.0 southern Idaho
- 1.8 32 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.0 34 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 1.6 18 km NW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.2 24 km NW of Challis, Idaho
- 1.6 33 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.3 21 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 1.7 21 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.1 southern Idaho
- 3.4 24 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 3.2 20 km NW of Challis, Idaho
- 1.5 21 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.6 18 km NW of Challis, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.