QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M -0.5ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 4:50 pm MDT (22:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 11 km (7 mi) NNW, at 1:21 am MDT on 8 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Yellowstone

This page: a magnitude -0.5 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT, at 1:23 am MDT on 11 October 2026 (07:23 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 26 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana

1:23 am MDT, Oct 11, 2026 · · 17 km deep · released about 0.006 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 60 kmMadison County 71 kmClark County 83 kmGallatin County 90 kmMadison County 108 kmPark County 111 kmTeton County 113 kmBeaverhead County 115 kmTeton County 117 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
1:23 am MDT on 11 October 2026 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M -0.5 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 60 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Madison fault, 6 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 12 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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 0.006 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 0.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M -0.5 about 0.006 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 4.4 on 2017-06-16 — about 16,000,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 26 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 30 km SSW of Big Sky, Montana · 33 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 32 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 14 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 26 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 11 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 31 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 9 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 44.7523, -111.5280. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 60 km (37 mi) S earthquakes near Fremont County
Madison County, MT 71 km (44 mi) NNW earthquakes near Madison County
Clark County, ID 83 km (52 mi) SW earthquakes near Clark County
Gallatin County, MT 90 km (56 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gallatin County
Madison County, ID 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near Madison County
Park County, MT 111 km (69 mi) NE earthquakes near Park County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.1 8 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  2. 0.4 1 km S of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  3. 0.9 11 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  4. 0.7 11 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  5. 0.2 12 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  6. 0.2 7 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  7. 0.0 7 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  8. 1.1 46 km NW of Island Park, Idaho
  9. 0.9 7 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  10. 0.8 24 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  11. 0.1 25 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  12. 0.6 25 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  13. 0.7 24 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  14. 0.9 24 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  15. -0.0 25 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, 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.