QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Challis, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Challis in the 24 hours to 2:40 pm MST (21:40 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) south-southeast of Challis, ID, at 11:12 pm MDT on 30 September 2025 (05:12 UTC), 4.3 km deep.

USGS: 26 km E of Clayton, Idaho

11:12 pm MDT, Sep 30, 2025 · · 4.3 km deep · released about 72 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Custer County 15 kmLemhi County 79 kmBlaine County 93 kmButte County 94 kmCamas County 99 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
11:12 pm MDT on 30 September 2025 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) south-southeast of Challis, ID · earthquakes near Challis
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
4.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Custer County, 15 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Lone Pine fault, 4 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 406 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Challis, 33 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 72 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 1,200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1983 Borah Peak Earthquake, Idaho · 25 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 18 km ESE of Challis, Idaho · 27 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 22 km E of Clayton, Idaho · 7 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 29 km NW of Mackay, Idaho · 21 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 23 km E of Clayton, Idaho · 3 km W 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 44.2293, -114.0687. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Custer County, ID 15 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Custer County
Lemhi County, ID 79 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Lemhi County
Blaine County, ID 93 km (58 mi) S earthquakes near Blaine County
Butte County, ID 94 km (58 mi) SE earthquakes near Butte County
Camas County, ID 99 km (61 mi) SW earthquakes near Camas County
Beaverhead County, MT 137 km (85 mi) NE earthquakes near Beaverhead County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 25 km S of Clayton, Idaho
  2. 1.7 25 km SSE of Challis, Idaho
  3. 2.0 8 km SSW of Challis, Idaho
  4. 2.3 7 km E of Challis, Idaho
  5. 2.6 4 km NW of Challis, Idaho
  6. 2.4 2 km NW of Challis, Idaho
  7. 2.6 26 km S of Clayton, Idaho
  8. 1.7 14 km NNE of Challis, Idaho
  9. 2.4 29 km S of Clayton, Idaho
  10. 2.1 14 km W of Clayton, Idaho
  11. 1.7 2 km NE of Clayton, Idaho
  12. 1.8 9 km NW 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

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