QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Seeley Lake, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Seeley Lake in the 24 hours to 7:11 am MST (14:11 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 26 km (16 mi) ESE, at 8:34 pm MDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seeley Lake

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Seeley Lake, MT, at 8:48 pm MDT on 9 July 2017 (02:48 UTC), 11 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km NNW of Ovando, Montana

8:48 pm MDT, Jul 9, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Seeley Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Powell County 34 kmMissoula County 56 kmLewis and Clark County 59 kmGranite County 81 kmLake County 92 kmTeton County 104 kmDeer Lodge County 112 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
8:48 pm MDT on 9 July 2017 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Seeley Lake, MT · earthquakes near Seeley Lake
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Powell County, 34 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3323 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Seeley Lake, 26 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 5.0 on 2017-07-06 — about 2,800 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 47.1015, -113.1653. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Powell County, MT 34 km (21 mi) SSE earthquakes near Powell County
Missoula County, MT 56 km (35 mi) W earthquakes near Missoula County
Lewis and Clark County, MT 59 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County
Granite County, MT 81 km (50 mi) SSW earthquakes near Granite County
Lake County, MT 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Lake County
Teton County, MT 104 km (65 mi) NE earthquakes near Teton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 41 km WSW of Augusta, Montana
  2. 2.2 41 km WSW of Augusta, Montana
  3. 1.6 37 km WSW of Augusta, Montana
  4. 1.6 18 km SSW of Lincoln, Montana
  5. 2.2 38 km WSW of Augusta, Montana
  6. 2.0 9 km WNW of Lincoln, Montana
  7. 1.9 33 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  8. 1.9 32 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  9. 2.5 26 km ENE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  10. 2.4 7 km NNE of Drummond, Montana
  11. 1.7 10 km ENE of Ovando, Montana
  12. 1.5 4 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
  13. 1.5 8 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana
  14. 2.0 11 km W of Lincoln, Montana
  15. 2.0 5 km SSW 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

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