Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Lincoln, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Lincoln in the 24 hours to 11:34 pm MST (06:34 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Lincoln, MT, at 6:09 am MST on 3 January 2018 (13:09 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16 km NW of Lincoln, Montana
- When
- 6:09 am MST on 3 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Lincoln, MT · earthquakes near Lincoln
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Powell County, 25 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3155 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lincoln, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lincoln, 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Lincoln, 16 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 710,000 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 47.0561, -112.8350. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell County, MT | 25 km (15 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
| Missoula County, MT | 80 km (50 mi) | W | earthquakes near Missoula County |
| Granite County, MT | 86 km (54 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Granite County |
| Teton County, MT | 94 km (59 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 109 km (68 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Deer Lodge 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.
- 1.7 34 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
- 2.1 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.8 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.0 14 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.5 16 km NNW of Marysville, Montana
- 3.8 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.5 20 km N of Avon, Montana
- 2.4 17 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.3 12 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 3.1 12 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.8 17 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.6 12 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.1 3 km WSW of Lincoln, Montana
- 2.1 15 km SE of Lincoln, Montana
- 1.6 3 km WSW 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.