Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Helena Valley Northeast, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Helena Valley Northeast in the 24 hours to 10:02 am MST (17:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 11 km (7 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm MDT on 9 March 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 267 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Helena Valley Northeast
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 30 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Helena Valley Northeast, MT, at 5:50 am MST on 1 January 2025 (12:50 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 29 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- When
- 5:50 am MST on 1 January 2025 ()
- Where
- 30 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Helena Valley Northeast, MT · earthquakes near Helena Valley Northeast
- 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
- Broadwater County, 53 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 679 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Helena Valley Northeast, MT
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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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Helena Valley Northeast, 30 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 41 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Mainshock) · 24 km S of this epicentre
- 5.9 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 38 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Largest Aftershock) · 35 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 38 km SW 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 46.8050, -111.5938. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadwater County, MT | 53 km (33 mi) | S | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
| Meagher County, MT | 57 km (35 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Meagher County |
| Cascade County, MT | 60 km (37 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Cascade County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 69 km (43 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 84 km (52 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Judith Basin County, MT | 101 km (63 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Judith Basin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
22 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2 km SE of South Hills, Montana
- 1.5 16 km NE of Helena Valley Northwest, Montana
- 1.6 14 km SSE of Craig, Montana
- 2.4 21 km SSE of Craig, Montana
- 1.5 1 km SSE of South Hills, Montana
- 1.7 0 km NNW of South Hills, Montana
- 2.0 32 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- 2.0 20 km NNE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- 1.5 31 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- 1.9 1 km SSE of South Hills, Montana
- 2.4 2 km ESE of Clancy, Montana
- 1.7 14 km NNW of Winston, Montana
- 1.5 3 km SE of Helena Valley West Central, Montana
- 1.6 6 km SE of Craig, Montana
- 1.7 4 km ESE of The Silos, 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.