QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Challis, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Challis in the 24 hours to 12:15 am MST (07:15 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (6 mi) SSW, at 1:32 am MDT on 17 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Challis

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) southwest of Challis, ID, at 12:51 am MDT on 23 October 2020 (06:51 UTC), 9.1 km deep.

USGS: 16 km WNW of Clayton, Idaho

12:51 am MDT, Oct 23, 2020 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Challis Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Custer County 28 kmCamas County 89 kmLemhi County 90 kmBoise County 95 kmValley County 102 kmBlaine County 113 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
12:51 am MDT on 23 October 2020 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) southwest of Challis, ID · earthquakes near Challis
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Custer County, 28 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2210 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Challis, 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 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 6.5 on 2020-03-31 — about 18,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 37 km N of Stanley, Idaho · 37 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 22 km E of Clayton, Idaho · 39 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 23 km E of Clayton, Idaho · 40 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 9 km SE of Challis, Idaho · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 9 km E of Challis, Idaho · 45 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 44.2977, -114.5995. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Custer County, ID 28 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Custer County
Camas County, ID 89 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Camas County
Lemhi County, ID 90 km (56 mi) NE earthquakes near Lemhi County
Boise County, ID 95 km (59 mi) WSW earthquakes near Boise County
Valley County, ID 102 km (63 mi) NW earthquakes near Valley County
Blaine County, ID 113 km (70 mi) SSE earthquakes near Blaine County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 16 km WNW of Stanley, ID
  2. 1.9 16 km SW of Stanley, ID
  3. 2.0 14 km WNW of Stanley, ID
  4. 2.1 19 km WNW of Stanley, ID
  5. 2.0 17 km SW of Stanley, ID
  6. 1.8 11 km NNE of Stanley, Idaho
  7. 1.8 16 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  8. 2.4 16 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  9. 1.7 14 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  10. 2.0 18 km NNE of Stanley, Idaho
  11. 2.4 17 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  12. 2.4 19 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  13. 2.1 14 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  14. 2.0 10 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  15. 2.8 9 km NW of Stanley, Idaho

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.