Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Helena, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Helena in the 24 hours to 1:25 pm MST (20:25 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 7 km (4 mi) SE, at 11:34 am MDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Helena
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) west-northwest of Helena, MT, at 1:24 pm MST on 28 November 2020 (20:24 UTC), 8.4 km deep.
USGS: 16 km NNE of Avon, Montana
- When
- 1:24 pm MST on 28 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) west-northwest of Helena, MT · earthquakes near Helena
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Powell County, 31 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2174 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Helena, MT
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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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Helena, 42 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: Lincoln.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 5.8 on 2017-07-06 — about 350,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 45 km ESE 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 46.7417, -112.5458. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell County, MT | 31 km (20 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 44 km (27 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
| Granite County, MT | 78 km (48 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Granite County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 78 km (49 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 85 km (53 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Deer Lodge County |
| Broadwater County, MT | 92 km (57 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.5 15 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.7 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.5 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.5 12 km E of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.5 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.7 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.2 6 km W of Helena Valley West Central, Montana
- 1.8 14 km SW of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.7 12 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.4 8 km NNE of Helena Valley Northwest, Montana
- 1.5 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.6 2 km SSW of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.7 10 km WSW of Garrison, Montana
- 2.0 14 km ESE of Lincoln, 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.