Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Butte, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Butte in the 24 hours to 1:42 pm MST (20:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 5 km (3 mi) E, at 12:56 pm MST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Butte
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Butte, MT, at 8:35 am MDT on 19 July 2024 (14:35 UTC), 7.8 km deep.
USGS: 0 km NW of Cardwell, Montana
- When
- 8:35 am MDT on 19 July 2024 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Butte, MT · earthquakes near Butte
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Jefferson County, 30 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 845 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Butte, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Butte, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Butte, 48 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.
Likely felt in: Whitehall 11 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 4.0 on 2016-09-03 — about 78 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1925 Clarkston Valley, Montana Earthquake · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.4 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 42 km NE 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 45.8620, -111.9545. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, MT | 30 km (19 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Silver Bow County, MT | 55 km (34 mi) | W | earthquakes near Silver Bow County |
| Madison County, MT | 60 km (37 mi) | S | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Broadwater County, MT | 63 km (39 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 72 km (45 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 95 km (59 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Deer Lodge 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.
- 1.8 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 2.4 7 km NW of Willow Creek, Montana
- 1.6 6 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.9 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.7 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 6 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 6 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 6 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.7 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.8 5 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.7 5 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 6 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 6 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 10 km NNE of Three Forks, 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.