QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Kalispell, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Kalispell in the 24 hours to 3:28 am MST (10:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 22 km (13 mi) NNW, at 1:53 am MST on 1 March 2021, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kalispell

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Kalispell, MT, at 9:37 am MDT on 12 June 2020 (15:37 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 2 km ESE of Bear Dance, Montana

9:37 am MDT, Jun 12, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 33 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 30 kmFlathead County 44 kmSanders County 90 kmMissoula County 98 kmGlacier County 116 kmMineral County 119 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
9:37 am MDT on 12 June 2020 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) southeast of Kalispell, MT · earthquakes near Kalispell
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 30 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, 1 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 2345 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Kalispell, 40 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: Bigfork, Lakeside, Somers, Polson.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 Western Montana · 18 km NE 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 47.9047, -113.9967. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, MT 30 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lake County
Flathead County, MT 44 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near Flathead County
Sanders County, MT 90 km (56 mi) W earthquakes near Sanders County
Missoula County, MT 98 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Missoula County
Glacier County, MT 116 km (72 mi) NE earthquakes near Glacier County
Mineral County, MT 119 km (74 mi) SW earthquakes near Mineral County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 19 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  2. 1.9 12 km ESE of Evergreen, Montana
  3. 1.6 16 km NNE of Condon, Montana
  4. 1.6 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  5. 1.7 1 km S of Woods Bay, Montana
  6. 2.1 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  7. 1.6 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  8. 2.2 7 km WNW of Lake Mary Ronan, Montana
  9. 1.7 7 km WNW of Lake Mary Ronan, Montana
  10. 1.8 6 km WNW of Lake Mary Ronan, Montana
  11. 1.8 14 km WNW of Condon, Montana
  12. 1.6 16 km WSW of Kerr, Montana
  13. 2.1 27 km E of Swan Lake, Montana
  14. 2.5 24 km E of Swan Lake, Montana
  15. 2.4 27 km E of Swan Lake, 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.