Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
29 km NNE of Spencer, Idaho
Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 29 km NNE of Spencer, Idaho, at 7:43 pm MDT on 19 July 2020 (01:43 UTC), 12 km deep.
- When
- Idaho today
- every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Clark County, 42 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Centennial fault, 3 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 2305 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Yellowstone, MT
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. 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 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 4.6 on 2019-04-09 — about 13,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 31 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.0 39 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 34 km ENE 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 44.6167, -112.0842. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, ID | 42 km (26 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Fremont County, ID | 65 km (40 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Madison County, MT | 80 km (50 mi) | N | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 86 km (53 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Beaverhead County |
| Jefferson County, ID | 93 km (58 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Madison County, ID | 98 km (61 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Madison 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.
- 1.5 7 km ENE of Lima, Montana
- 2.9 6 km ENE of Lima, Montana
- 1.5 9 km ENE of Lima, Montana
- 1.6 41 km S of Virginia City, Montana
- 1.6 Idaho-Montana border region
- 1.7 31 km N of Spencer, Idaho
- 1.6 Idaho-Montana border region
- 1.6 10 km ESE of Lima, Montana
- 1.7 42 km NNE of Spencer, Idaho
- 1.9 32 km N of Spencer, Idaho
- 2.0 28 km N of Spencer, Idaho
- 1.6 8 km ENE of Lima, Montana
- 2.1 32 km S of Virginia City, Montana
- 1.8 7 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 2.4 8 km SE of Lima, 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
- 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.