Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Challis, ID
No earthquake was likely felt in Challis in the 24 hours to 6:45 pm MST (01:45 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (6 mi) SSW, at 1:32 am MDT on 17 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Challis
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of Challis, ID, at 12:38 am MDT on 13 September 2025 (06:38 UTC), 6.4 km deep.
USGS: 2 km ENE of Clayton, Idaho
- When
- 12:38 am MDT on 13 September 2025 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of Challis, ID · earthquakes near Challis
- Idaho today
- every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Custer County, 10 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Lone Pine fault, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 425 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Challis, ID
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Challis, ID. 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 Challis, 29 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2025-06-08 — about 13,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1983 Borah Peak Earthquake, Idaho · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 18 km ESE of Challis, Idaho · 37 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 22 km E of Clayton, Idaho · 21 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 29 km NW of Mackay, Idaho · 43 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 23 km E of Clayton, Idaho · 22 km E 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 44.2675, -114.3750. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, ID | 10 km (6 mi) | E | earthquakes near Custer County |
| Lemhi County, ID | 83 km (52 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lemhi County |
| Camas County, ID | 91 km (56 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Camas County |
| Blaine County, ID | 103 km (64 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Blaine County |
| Boise County, ID | 111 km (69 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Boise County |
| Butte County, ID | 116 km (72 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Butte County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
18 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 25 km S of Clayton, Idaho
- 2.2 21 km W of Clayton, Idaho
- 2.9 4 km NNE of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.7 25 km SSE of Challis, Idaho
- 2.0 8 km SSW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.3 7 km E of Challis, Idaho
- 2.6 4 km NW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.4 2 km NW of Challis, Idaho
- 2.6 26 km S of Clayton, Idaho
- 1.7 14 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
- 2.1 21 km ESE of Stanley, Idaho
- 2.4 29 km S of Clayton, Idaho
- 2.3 19 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
- 2.1 14 km W of Clayton, Idaho
- 1.7 2 km NE of Clayton, Idaho
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.