Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.7ml
Earthquake near Clinton, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Clinton in the 24 hours to 6:44 am MST (13:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 30 km (19 mi) ENE, at 8:06 am MDT on 15 August 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Clinton
This page: a magnitude 3.7 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Clinton, MT, at 12:04 am MDT on 11 August 2018 (06:04 UTC), 13 km deep. 12 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 19 km ESE of Clinton, Montana
46 km (29 mi) ESE of Missoula, MT
- When
- 12:04 am MDT on 11 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Clinton, MT · earthquakes near Clinton
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 12 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Granite County, 33 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2949 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Clinton, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Clinton, 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 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 75 km (47 mi) from the epicentre. In Clinton, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 5.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 32,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.7 about 5.4 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 11× 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
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 46.6933, -113.4831. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granite County, MT | 33 km (21 mi) | S | earthquakes near Granite County |
| Powell County, MT | 45 km (28 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Missoula County, MT | 48 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Missoula County |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 72 km (44 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Deer Lodge County |
| Ravalli County, MT | 83 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ravalli County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 96 km (60 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 7 km NNW of Ovando, Montana
- 1.2 22 km SW of Ovando, Montana
- 3.1 5 km NW of Ovando, Montana
- 2.9 22 km WSW of Ovando, Montana
- 2.4 10 km S of Ovando, Montana
- 1.8 17 km ENE of Drummond, Montana
- 2.3 16 km ENE of Drummond, Montana
- 2.7 6 km SSE of Seeley Lake, Montana
- 1.9 6 km SSE of Seeley Lake, Montana
- 1.5 12 km SW of Seeley Lake, Montana
- 1.9 7 km WSW of Drummond, Montana
- 1.7 10 km ESE of Ovando, Montana
- 1.8 2 km S of Turah, Montana
- 1.6 10 km WSW of Drummond, Montana
- 1.7 15 km WSW of Drummond, 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.