Earthquake near Whitefish, MT

USGS: 3 km N of Olney, Montana

10:56 am MDT, Oct 20, 2019 · 2019-10-20 16:56 UTC · 12 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

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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: 10:56 am MDT on 20 October 2019 (2019-10-20 16:56 UTC)
Where: 25 km (16 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT · earthquakes near Whitefish
Magnitude: M 2.1 (ml)
Depth: 12 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Flathead County, 50 km SE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2539 days ago · we first saw it 2539 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT, at 10:56 am MDT on 20 October 2019 (16:56 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 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 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 48.5795, -114.5715. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT	50 km (31 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Flathead County
Lincoln County, MT	66 km (41 mi)	W	earthquakes near Lincoln County
Sanders County, MT	102 km (63 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Sanders County
Lake County, MT	110 km (69 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Lake County
Glacier County, MT	117 km (73 mi)	E	earthquakes near Glacier County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.3 6 km NNE of Olney, Montana 03:53 UTC
2.0 1 km ENE of Columbia Falls, Montana 04:28 UTC
1.6 Western Montana 20:53 UTC
2.2 19 km E of Indian Springs, Montana 08:58 UTC
1.7 11 km NW of Batavia, Montana 15:52 UTC
1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana 02:55 UTC
1.6 13 km WNW of Marion, Montana 02:14 UTC
1.7 18 km NW of Marion, Montana 01:12 UTC
2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana 08:11 UTC
1.9 3 km NNW of Coram, Montana 08:20 UTC
1.6 2 km NNE of Coram, Montana 16:42 UTC
1.6 10 km SSW of Whitefish, Montana 23:26 UTC
2.6 7 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana 08:53 UTC
3.2 19 km ENE of Stryker, Montana 07:58 UTC
2.1 4 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana 19:44 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:50 UTC. 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.