Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Bozeman, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Bozeman in the 24 hours to 4:48 pm MST (23:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 17 km (10 mi) NW, at 7:42 am MDT on 1 June 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 20 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bozeman
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) west of Bozeman, MT, at 1:49 pm MDT on 15 August 2026 (19:49 UTC), 3.4 km deep.
USGS: 17 km ESE of Harrison, Montana
41 km (25 mi) W of Bozeman, MT
- When
- 1:49 pm MDT on 15 August 2026 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) west of Bozeman, MT · earthquakes near Bozeman
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Gallatin County, 35 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Madison fault, 23 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 83 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bozeman, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bozeman, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Bozeman, 42 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Three Forks.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.3 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 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 6,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.6 The 1925 Clarkston Valley, Montana Earthquake · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 6.4 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 49 km N 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 45.6438, -111.5755. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin County, MT | 35 km (22 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Madison County, MT | 44 km (27 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 65 km (41 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Broadwater County, MT | 77 km (48 mi) | N | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
| Park County, MT | 83 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Park County |
| Silver Bow County, MT | 89 km (55 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Silver Bow County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
8 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 4 km WNW of Ponderosa Pines, Montana
- 1.6 15 km S of Whitehall, Montana
- 0.5 11 km NNE of Ennis, Montana
- 0.8 1 km NW of Ponderosa Pines, Montana
- 1.9 14 km ESE of Harrison, Montana
- 2.1 12 km NW of Ennis, Montana
- 1.5 13 km NNW of Ennis, Montana
- 2.1 4 km NW of Ponderosa Pines, 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.