QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

16 km ESE of Lincoln, MT

Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 16 km ESE of Lincoln, MT, at 8:48 am MST on 14 January 2021 (15:48 UTC), 13 km deep.

· 13 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lewis and Clark County 28 kmPowell County 32 kmGranite County 89 kmJefferson County 91 kmBroadwater County 99 kmCascade County 100 kmDeer Lodge County 100 kmTeton County 106 kmMissoula County 106 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
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lewis and Clark County, 28 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2127 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 5 km (3 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lincoln.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 in our catalogue was M 5.8 on 2017-07-06 — about 870,000 times the energy of this one.

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 46.8825, -112.5078. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lewis and Clark County, MT 28 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County
Powell County, MT 32 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Powell County
Granite County, MT 89 km (55 mi) SW earthquakes near Granite County
Jefferson County, MT 91 km (57 mi) SSE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Broadwater County, MT 99 km (61 mi) SE earthquakes near Broadwater County
Cascade County, MT 100 km (62 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cascade 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.

  1. 1.8 16 km ESE of Ovando, Montana
  2. 1.7 16 km ESE of Ovando, Montana
  3. 1.8 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  4. 2.1 9 km NE of Avon, Montana
  5. 2.2 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  6. 1.5 15 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  7. 1.7 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  8. 1.5 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  9. 1.5 12 km E of Lincoln, Montana
  10. 1.5 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  11. 1.7 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
  12. 2.2 6 km W of Helena Valley West Central, Montana
  13. 1.8 14 km SW of Lincoln, Montana
  14. 1.7 12 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
  15. 2.4 8 km NNE of Helena Valley Northwest, 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.