Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Missoula, MT
USGS: 5 km NW of Wye, Montana
16 km (10 mi) NW of Missoula, MT
- When
- 11:09 pm MST on 4 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) NW of Missoula, MT · earthquakes near Missoula
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Missoula County, 22 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bitterroot fault, 22 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 2462 days ago
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) NW of Missoula, MT, at 11:09 pm MST on 4 January 2020 (06:09 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Frenchtown, Orchard Homes, East Missoula, Bonner-West Riverside, Lolo.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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
Epicentre 46.9793, -114.1760. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missoula County, MT | 22 km (14 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Missoula County |
| Mineral County, MT | 71 km (44 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Lake County, MT | 74 km (46 mi) | N | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Granite County, MT | 86 km (54 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Granite County |
| Powell County, MT | 96 km (59 mi) | E | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Ravalli County, MT | 100 km (62 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ravalli County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 2 km NNE of Alberton, Montana
- 1.5 6 km S of Frenchtown, Montana
- 1.7 6 km S of Frenchtown, Montana
- 1.9 18 km E of Saint Ignatius, Montana
- 1.9 6 km S of Huson, Montana
- 1.9 3 km SSW of Alberton, Montana
- 1.7 2 km ENE of Alberton, Montana
- 2.2 2 km NE of Alberton, Montana
- 1.7 4 km WNW of Wye, Montana
- 1.7 4 km SSW of Alberton, Montana
- 2.1 3 km S of Alberton, Montana
- 2.1 5 km WNW of Saint Ignatius, Montana
- 2.2 1 km SE of Alberton, Montana
- 1.5 5 km NE of Saint Ignatius, Montana
- 1.8 17 km E of Arlee, 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
- 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.