QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Polson, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Polson in the 24 hours to 9:54 am MST (16:54 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 32 km (20 mi) ENE, at 9:19 pm MDT on 14 March 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Polson

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) east of Polson, MT, at 2:32 am MST on 19 February 2025 (09:32 UTC), 2.4 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNE of Condon, Montana

2:32 am MST, Feb 19, 2025 · · 2.4 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 31 kmMissoula County 73 kmFlathead County 75 kmTeton County 105 kmPowell County 107 kmSanders County 114 kmLewis and Clark County 114 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:32 am MST on 19 February 2025 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) east of Polson, MT · earthquakes near Polson
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 31 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 630 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Polson, 37 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 Western Montana · 38 km NNW 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 47.6692, -113.6677. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, MT 31 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Lake County
Missoula County, MT 73 km (46 mi) SSW earthquakes near Missoula County
Flathead County, MT 75 km (47 mi) NNW earthquakes near Flathead County
Teton County, MT 105 km (65 mi) E earthquakes near Teton County
Powell County, MT 107 km (67 mi) SSE earthquakes near Powell County
Sanders County, MT 114 km (71 mi) W earthquakes near Sanders County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

19 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.4 4 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
  2. 1.8 3 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
  3. 1.1 2 km E of Bear Dance, Montana
  4. -0.0 19 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  5. 0.9 15 km SE of Condon, Montana
  6. 0.9 9 km WSW of Condon, Montana
  7. 1.9 15 km N of Seeley Lake, Montana
  8. 1.9 18 km E of Saint Ignatius, Montana
  9. 2.4 9 km SSW of Bear Dance, Montana
  10. 1.8 17 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  11. 2.6 13 km ESE of Kicking Horse, Montana
  12. 1.6 40 km ENE of Condon, Montana
  13. 2.0 15 km ENE of Ronan, Montana
  14. 1.7 20 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  15. 1.6 20 km E of Finley Point, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.