QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Somers, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Somers in the 24 hours to 12:39 am MST (07:39 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSE, at 10:51 am MST on 10 January 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Somers

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded in Somers, MT, at 11:48 am MST on 14 January 2018 (18:48 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km N of Somers, Montana

11:48 am MST, Jan 14, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 25 kmLake County 51 kmSanders County 81 kmLincoln County 105 kmGlacier County 113 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
11:48 am MST on 14 January 2018 ()
Where
in Somers, MT · earthquakes near Somers
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Flathead County, 25 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3146 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

Likely felt in: Kalispell 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 Western Montana · 33 km ESE of this epicentre

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 48.0959, -114.2176. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 25 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lake County, MT 51 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County
Sanders County, MT 81 km (50 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Lincoln County, MT 105 km (65 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Glacier County, MT 113 km (70 mi) NE earthquakes near Glacier County
Missoula County, MT 121 km (75 mi) SSE earthquakes near Missoula County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 8 km NNW of Bigfork, Montana
  2. 1.7 11 km NW of Batavia, Montana
  3. 2.9 4 km N of Elmo, Montana
  4. 1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana
  5. 2.5 6 km WNW of Bear Dance, Montana
  6. 2.2 8 km WNW of Niarada, Montana
  7. 1.6 4 km ESE of Rollins, Montana
  8. 2.3 19 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  9. 2.1 16 km NNE of Swan Lake, Montana
  10. 2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana
  11. 1.7 3 km E of Forest Hill Village, Montana
  12. 1.6 13 km E of Martin City, Montana
  13. 2.5 2 km WSW of Bear Dance, Montana
  14. 1.9 4 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
  15. 1.9 3 km NNW of Coram, 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.