QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 11:00 am MST (18:00 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 11 km (7 mi) NNW, at 1:21 am MDT on 8 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Yellowstone

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) west-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT, at 12:47 am MST on 27 February 2020 (07:47 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 27 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana

12:47 am MST, Feb 27, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 65 kmMadison County 65 kmGallatin County 85 kmClark County 86 kmPark County 108 kmMadison County 113 kmBeaverhead County 113 kmTeton County 118 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
12:47 am MST on 27 February 2020 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) west-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 65 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Madison fault, 6 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 2449 days ago

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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 37 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 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 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 4.4 on 2017-06-16 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 26 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 30 km SSW of Big Sky, Montana · 27 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 32 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 9 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 26 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 6 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 31 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 5 km WNW 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 44.8012, -111.5355. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 65 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Fremont County
Madison County, MT 65 km (41 mi) NNW earthquakes near Madison County
Gallatin County, MT 85 km (53 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gallatin County
Clark County, ID 86 km (54 mi) SW earthquakes near Clark County
Park County, MT 108 km (67 mi) NE earthquakes near Park County
Madison County, ID 113 km (70 mi) S earthquakes near Madison County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 1 km SSW of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 2.3 1 km SW of West Yellowstone, Montana
  3. 1.5 8 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  4. 1.6 8 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  5. 1.5 29 km S of Ennis, Montana
  6. 1.9 22 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  7. 1.7 7 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  8. 1.6 14 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  9. 2.6 13 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  10. 1.5 26 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  11. 1.6 9 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  12. 3.1 9 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  13. 2.1 9 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  14. 1.8 9 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  15. 1.6 26 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, 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.