Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
4 km SSE of Lima, Montana
Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km SSE of Lima, Montana, at 7:58 am MDT on 9 September 2023 (13:58 UTC), 8.2 km deep.
- When
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Clark County, 39 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Red Rock fault, 4 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 1028 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Dillon, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Dillon, MT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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. 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 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 4.6 on 2019-04-09 — about 29,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 19 km NW of Lima, Montana · 24 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.1 22 km NW of Lima, Montana · 27 km NW 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 44.5998, -112.5735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, ID | 39 km (24 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 64 km (40 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Beaverhead County |
| Jefferson County, ID | 92 km (57 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Madison County, MT | 96 km (60 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Fremont County, ID | 96 km (60 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Lemhi County, ID | 110 km (68 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Lemhi County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 31 km NNE of Spencer, Idaho
- 1.9 2 km SSE of Lima, Montana
- 2.3 2 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 1.5 11 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 1.6 11 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 1.9 11 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 1.6 31 km NNE of Spencer, Idaho
- 1.8 11 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 1.7 10 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 2.6 9 km SE of Lima, Montana
- 1.7 25 km E of Leadore, Idaho
- 1.9 12 km NE of Lima, Montana
- 1.5 12 km NE of Lima, Montana
- 1.7 31 km NW of Lima, Montana
- 2.0 22 km NE of Lima, 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.