Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Butte, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Butte in the 24 hours to 10:34 am MST (17:34 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Butte, MT, at 6:14 am MDT on 1 August 2024 (12:14 UTC), 4.2 km deep.
USGS: 18 km W of Pony, Montana
- When
- 6:14 am MDT on 1 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Butte, MT · earthquakes near Butte
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Madison County, 43 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 832 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Butte, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Whitehall.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 5,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.4 Near Butte, Montana · 46 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 45.6818, -112.1265. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison County, MT | 43 km (27 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Silver Bow County, MT | 48 km (30 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Silver Bow County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 49 km (31 mi) | N | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 77 km (48 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 85 km (53 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Beaverhead County |
| Broadwater County, MT | 87 km (54 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Broadwater 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.
- 1.6 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 4 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 6 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.9 6 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 1.5 1 km NNE of Twin Bridges, Montana
- 1.6 5 km ENE of Butte, Montana
- 1.6 5 km E of Butte, Montana
- 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
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.