QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Kalispell, MT

USGS: 7 km W of Olney, Montana

5:53 am MDT, Jul 27, 2017 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Kalispell Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 54 kmLincoln County 57 kmSanders County 95 kmLake County 109 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
5:53 am MDT on 27 July 2017 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) NW of Kalispell, MT · earthquakes near Kalispell
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Flathead County, 54 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3276 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) NW of Kalispell, MT, at 5:53 am MDT on 27 July 2017 (11:53 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Whitefish.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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

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 48.5408, -114.6839. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 54 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lincoln County, MT 57 km (36 mi) W earthquakes near Lincoln County
Sanders County, MT 95 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Lake County, MT 109 km (68 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 6 km NNE of Olney, Montana
  2. 2.0 1 km ENE of Columbia Falls, Montana
  3. 2.2 19 km E of Indian Springs, Montana
  4. 1.7 11 km NW of Batavia, Montana
  5. 2.2 16 km ENE of Happys Inn, Montana
  6. 1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana
  7. 1.6 13 km WNW of Marion, Montana
  8. 1.7 18 km NW of Marion, Montana
  9. 2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana
  10. 1.6 10 km SSW of Whitefish, Montana
  11. 2.6 7 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  12. 3.2 19 km ENE of Stryker, Montana
  13. 2.1 4 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  14. 3.2 3 km S of Columbia Falls, Montana
  15. 2.6 14 km NNE of Fortine, 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.