Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
15 km NE of Babb, Montana
Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km NE of Babb, Montana, at 12:29 am MDT on 22 March 2020 (06:29 UTC), 20 km deep.
- When
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Glacier County, 38 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2424 days ago
Earthquake alerts for North Browning, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near North Browning, MT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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. 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 17 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 48.9740, -113.3103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier County, MT | 38 km (24 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glacier County |
| Flathead County, MT | 93 km (58 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Flathead County |
| Pondera County, MT | 115 km (72 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Pondera County |
| Toole County, MT | 121 km (75 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Toole County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
14 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 6 km SSW of Cardston, Canada
- 1.7 21 km SSE of Cardston, Canada
- 2.8 8 km S of Cardston, Canada
- 1.7 14 km S of Cardston, Canada
- 2.0 Alberta, Canada
- 1.9 35 km SE of Cardston, Canada
- 1.9 10 km NNW of Babb, Montana
- 2.3 31 km S of Magrath, Canada
- 1.7 33 km SE of Cardston, Canada
- 2.3 31 km SE of Cardston, Canada
- 1.8 39 km ESE of Cardston, Canada
- 2.4 38 km ESE of Cardston, Canada
- 1.7 37 km ESE of Cardston, Canada
- 1.7 13 km S of Cardston, Canada
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.