Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Helena, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Helena in the 24 hours to 5:31 pm MST (00:31 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) west-southwest of Helena, MT, at 12:20 am MDT on 22 March 2021 (06:20 UTC), 17 km deep.
USGS: 5 km SW of Elliston, Montana
- When
- 12:20 am MDT on 22 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) west-southwest of Helena, MT · earthquakes near Helena
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Powell County, 49 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2060 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Helena, 35 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: Deer Lodge, Helena West Side.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 67 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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 230,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Largest Aftershock) · 48 km E of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 38 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 46.5238, -112.4818. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell County, MT | 49 km (31 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 55 km (34 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 67 km (42 mi) | N | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 70 km (43 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Deer Lodge County |
| Silver Bow County, MT | 71 km (44 mi) | S | earthquakes near Silver Bow County |
| Granite County, MT | 74 km (46 mi) | W | earthquakes near Granite 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.
- 1.6 2 km E of South Hills, Montana
- 1.8 8 km SSE of Marysville, Montana
- 1.9 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.6 3 km SW of Helena Valley Northwest, Montana
- 1.6 5 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.8 12 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.0 5 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.8 7 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.6 1 km SSE of South Hills, Montana
- 3.3 6 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.3 6 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.9 Western Montana
- 2.8 7 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 3.2 6 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.6 1 km SSE of South Hills, 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.