QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Polson, MT

USGS: 17 km NNW of Condon, Montana

10:47 am MDT, Aug 25, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 23 kmFlathead County 71 kmMissoula County 73 kmSanders County 105 kmPowell County 113 kmTeton County 113 kmMineral 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
10:47 am MDT on 25 August 2019 ()
Where
28 km (18 mi) E of Polson, MT · earthquakes near Polson
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 23 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, 17 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2595 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 28 km (18 mi) E of Polson, MT, at 10:47 am MDT on 25 August 2019 (16:47 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Pablo, Ronan.

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 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 Western Montana · 36 km N of this epicentre

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 47.6785, -113.7832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, MT 23 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Lake County
Flathead County, MT 71 km (44 mi) NNW earthquakes near Flathead County
Missoula County, MT 73 km (45 mi) S earthquakes near Missoula County
Sanders County, MT 105 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near Sanders County
Powell County, MT 113 km (70 mi) SE earthquakes near Powell County
Teton County, MT 113 km (70 mi) E earthquakes near Teton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 18 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  2. 1.8 17 km SSW of Condon, Montana
  3. 1.9 17 km SSW of Condon, Montana
  4. 1.5 11 km ENE of Ronan, Montana
  5. 2.0 8 km S of Condon, Montana
  6. 1.6 Western Montana
  7. 1.9 21 km NNW of Condon, Montana
  8. 1.5 Western Montana
  9. 2.3 26 km ESE of Condon, Montana
  10. 2.1 14 km N of Seeley Lake, Montana
  11. 1.7 Western Montana
  12. 2.5 6 km WNW of Bear Dance, Montana
  13. 1.9 1 km W of Charlo, Montana
  14. 1.6 4 km ESE of Rollins, Montana
  15. 2.3 19 km SSE of Swan 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.