Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Lincoln, MT
USGS: 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- When
- 12:48 am MDT on 6 July 2017 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) SE of Lincoln, MT · earthquakes near Lincoln
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Powell County, 30 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1567 days ago
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) SE of Lincoln, MT, at 12:48 am MDT on 6 July 2017 (06:48 UTC). 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more
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 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 46.8593, -112.5375. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell County, MT | 30 km (19 mi) | W | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 31 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 | 90 km (56 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 97 km (60 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Deer Lodge County |
| Broadwater County, MT | 99 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
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 3.3 14 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 3.0 14 km WSW of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.2 17 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.5 9 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.0 12 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 3.1 14 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.6 16 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.0 14 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 3.0 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.3 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.3 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.4 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.6 14 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.5 14 km SE of Lincoln, 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.