QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Helena, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Helena in the 24 hours to 2:56 pm MST (21:56 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 7 km (4 mi) SE, at 11:34 am MDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Helena

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) north of Helena, MT, at 12:10 pm MST on 22 January 2020 (19:10 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: Western Montana

12:10 pm MST, Jan 22, 2020 · · 11 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Helena Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lewis and Clark County 39 kmCascade County 60 kmPowell County 76 kmBroadwater County 77 kmMeagher County 88 kmJefferson County 92 kmTeton County 100 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
12:10 pm MST on 22 January 2020 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) north of Helena, MT · earthquakes near Helena
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lewis and Clark County, 39 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2485 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Helena, 41 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Helena Valley Northwest, Helena Valley Northeast.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 4.3 on 2016-01-30 — about 14,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Mainshock) · 46 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 39 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Largest Aftershock) · 46 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 39 km S 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 46.9512, -111.9395. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lewis and Clark County, MT 39 km (24 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County
Cascade County, MT 60 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Cascade County
Powell County, MT 76 km (47 mi) W earthquakes near Powell County
Broadwater County, MT 77 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Broadwater County
Meagher County, MT 88 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Meagher County
Jefferson County, MT 92 km (57 mi) S earthquakes near Jefferson 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. 1.7 18 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  2. 1.6 14 km NNE of Marysville, Montana
  3. 2.0 5 km ESE of Marysville, Montana
  4. 2.9 28 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
  5. 2.7 28 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
  6. 2.1 29 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
  7. 2.2 1 km NW of East Helena, Montana
  8. 2.5 5 km N of Craig, Montana
  9. 1.7 3 km NNE of Craig, Montana
  10. 2.2 30 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
  11. 2.3 30 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
  12. 1.7 10 km NW of Marysville, Montana
  13. 2.1 16 km E of Lincoln, Montana
  14. 2.0 22 km SSE of Craig, Montana
  15. 2.6 13 km WSW of Cascade, 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.