QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Kalispell, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Kalispell in the 24 hours to 5:02 pm MST (00:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 22 km (13 mi) NNW, at 1:53 am MST on 1 March 2021, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kalispell

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Kalispell, MT, at 5:56 pm MST on 3 January 2022 (00:56 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNE of Swan Lake, Montana

5:56 pm MST, Jan 3, 2022 · · 12 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 31 kmLake County 52 kmGlacier County 92 kmSanders County 109 kmTeton County 116 kmMissoula County 116 kmPondera County 118 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
5:56 pm MST on 3 January 2022 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Kalispell, MT · earthquakes near Kalispell
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Flathead County, 31 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, 20 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 1766 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Kalispell, 41 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: Bigfork.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 Western Montana · 8 km S 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 48.0705, -113.7943. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 31 km (20 mi) NW earthquakes near Flathead County
Lake County, MT 52 km (32 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lake County
Glacier County, MT 92 km (57 mi) NE earthquakes near Glacier County
Sanders County, MT 109 km (68 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Teton County, MT 116 km (72 mi) ESE earthquakes near Teton County
Missoula County, MT 116 km (72 mi) S earthquakes near Missoula County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.2 3 km E of Somers, Montana
  2. 1.4 4 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
  3. 1.8 3 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
  4. 1.1 2 km E of Bear Dance, Montana
  5. -0.0 19 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  6. 2.4 9 km SSW of Bear Dance, Montana
  7. 1.6 1 km SSW of Dayton, Montana
  8. 1.8 17 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  9. 2.0 5 km SSW of West Glacier, Montana
  10. 1.8 12 km NE of Forest Hill Village, Montana
  11. 1.7 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  12. 1.6 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  13. 1.6 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  14. 2.1 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  15. 1.7 19 km E of Finley Point, 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.