Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Townsend, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Townsend in the 24 hours to 9:51 am MST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 9 km (5 mi) W, at 2:32 pm MDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Townsend
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Townsend, MT, at 4:44 pm MDT on 6 September 2024 (22:44 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 6 km WSW of Townsend, Montana
- When
- 4:44 pm MDT on 6 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Townsend, MT · earthquakes near Townsend
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Broadwater County, 9 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 795 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Townsend, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Townsend, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Townsend, 7 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: Townsend 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 4.2 on 2019-08-16 — about 5,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1925 Clarkston Valley, Montana Earthquake · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.4 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Mainshock) · 33 km N of this epicentre
- 5.9 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 45 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Largest Aftershock) · 33 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 46.2973, -111.6028. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadwater County, MT | 9 km (5 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 40 km (25 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Meagher County, MT | 61 km (38 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Meagher County |
| Silver Bow County, MT | 93 km (58 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Silver Bow County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 93 km (58 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 109 km (68 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 6 km NE of Logan, Montana
- 1.6 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.9 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 7 km SSW of The Silos, Montana
- 1.8 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 7 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 8 km WSW of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 7 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.9 8 km WSW of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 6 km NE of Three Forks, Montana
- 1.7 8 km SSW of The Silos, Montana
- 1.7 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.9 8 km W of Townsend, 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.