QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.0ml

Earthquake near Lincoln, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Lincoln in the 24 hours to 9:05 am MST (16:05 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 40 km (25 mi) WNW, at 8:34 pm MDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lincoln

This page: a magnitude 1.0 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) southeast of Lincoln, MT, at 12:49 am MDT on 28 October 2026 (06:49 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana

12:49 am MDT, Oct 28, 2026 · · 13 km deep · released about 1.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Powell County 30 kmLewis and Clark County 32 kmGranite County 85 kmJefferson County 89 kmDeer Lodge County 96 kmBroadwater County 98 kmCascade County 104 kmMissoula County 105 kmSilver Bow County 107 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
12:49 am MDT on 28 October 2026 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) southeast of Lincoln, MT · earthquakes near Lincoln
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.0 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Powell County, 30 km W
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 1.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 870× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.0 about 1.1 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 5.8 on 2017-07-06 — about 14,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 50 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 2 km ENE of Helena, Montana · 50 km SE 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 46.8522, -112.5387. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Powell County, MT 30 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Powell County
Lewis and Clark County, MT 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County
Granite County, MT 85 km (53 mi) SW earthquakes near Granite County
Jefferson County, MT 89 km (55 mi) SSE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Deer Lodge County, MT 96 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near Deer Lodge County
Broadwater County, MT 98 km (61 mi) SE earthquakes near Broadwater County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.2 14 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
  2. 0.8 10 km NW of Helena Valley Northwest, Montana
  3. 1.1 14 km NNE of Marysville, Montana
  4. 1.3 20 km NNE of Marysville, 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.