Earthquake near Missoula, MT

USGS: Idaho-Montana border region

16 km (10 mi) NW of Missoula, MT

12:03 pm MDT, May 11, 2020 · 2020-05-11 18:03 UTC · 11 km deep · released about 8.1 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: 12:03 pm MDT on 11 May 2020 (2020-05-11 18:03 UTC)
Where: 18 km (11 mi) NW of Missoula, MT · earthquakes near Missoula
Magnitude: M 1.6 (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 2335 days ago · we first saw it 2335 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) NW of Missoula, MT, at 12:03 pm MDT on 11 May 2020 (18:03 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 8.1 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.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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.

Where

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 46.9818, -114.1707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Missoula County, MT	22 km (13 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	95 km (59 mi)	E	earthquakes near Powell County
Ravalli County, MT	101 km (63 mi)	S	earthquakes near Ravalli County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.9 2 km NNE of Alberton, Montana 17:38 UTC
1.5 6 km S of Frenchtown, Montana 17:07 UTC
1.7 6 km S of Frenchtown, Montana 17:05 UTC
1.9 18 km E of Saint Ignatius, Montana 04:16 UTC
1.9 6 km S of Huson, Montana 06:12 UTC
1.9 3 km SSW of Alberton, Montana 04:15 UTC
1.7 2 km ENE of Alberton, Montana 15:47 UTC
2.2 2 km NE of Alberton, Montana 02:59 UTC
1.7 4 km WNW of Wye, Montana 12:24 UTC
1.7 4 km SSW of Alberton, Montana 06:17 UTC
2.1 3 km S of Alberton, Montana 07:29 UTC
2.1 5 km WNW of Saint Ignatius, Montana 03:08 UTC
2.2 1 km SE of Alberton, Montana 07:35 UTC
1.5 5 km NE of Saint Ignatius, Montana 08:42 UTC
1.8 17 km E of Arlee, Montana 03:25 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:14 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.