QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Lakeside, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Lakeside in the 24 hours to 5:40 am MST (12:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) SE, at 12:14 am MST on 1 December 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lakeside

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) east of Lakeside, MT, at 4:27 am MST on 22 January 2018 (11:27 UTC), 9.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km E of Lakeside, Montana

4:27 am MST, Jan 22, 2018 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 32 kmLake County 42 kmSanders County 81 kmMissoula County 112 kmLincoln County 113 kmGlacier County 116 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
4:27 am MST on 22 January 2018 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) east of Lakeside, MT · earthquakes near Lakeside
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Flathead County, 32 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, 2 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 3129 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Lakeside, 4 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Somers, Bigfork, Kalispell, Evergreen.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 · 27 km E 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 48.0165, -114.1657. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lake County, MT 42 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Sanders County, MT 81 km (50 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Missoula County, MT 112 km (70 mi) S earthquakes near Missoula County
Lincoln County, MT 113 km (70 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Glacier County, MT 116 km (72 mi) NE earthquakes near Glacier County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 Western Montana
  2. 1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana
  3. 2.5 6 km WNW of Bear Dance, Montana
  4. 1.6 4 km ESE of Rollins, Montana
  5. 2.3 19 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana
  6. 2.1 16 km NNE of Swan Lake, Montana
  7. 2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana
  8. 1.7 3 km E of Forest Hill Village, Montana
  9. 1.6 13 km E of Martin City, Montana
  10. 2.5 2 km WSW of Bear Dance, Montana
  11. 1.9 4 km NE of Bear Dance, Montana
  12. 1.9 3 km NNW of Coram, Montana
  13. 1.6 2 km NNE of Coram, Montana
  14. 1.6 10 km SSW of Whitefish, Montana
  15. 2.6 7 km WSW of Whitefish, 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.