QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

Earthquake near Whitefish, MT

USGS: 3 km SSW of Stryker, Montana

4:42 am MDT, Apr 10, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Whitefish Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 50 kmFlathead County 67 kmSanders County 103 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
4:42 am MDT on 10 April 2018 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT · earthquakes near Whitefish
Magnitude
M 3.3 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Lincoln County, 50 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3010 days ago

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT, at 4:42 am MDT on 10 April 2018 (10:42 UTC). 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× 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 48.6466, -114.7917. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, MT 50 km (31 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Flathead County, MT 67 km (42 mi) SE earthquakes near Flathead County
Sanders County, MT 103 km (64 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Lake County, MT 123 km (77 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 6 km NNE of Olney, Montana
  2. 2.2 19 km E of Indian Springs, Montana
  3. 1.7 11 km NW of Batavia, Montana
  4. 1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana
  5. 1.7 18 km NW of Marion, Montana
  6. 2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana
  7. 1.9 19 km NE of Indian Springs, Montana
  8. 1.6 10 km SSW of Whitefish, Montana
  9. 2.6 7 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  10. 3.2 19 km ENE of Stryker, Montana
  11. 2.1 4 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  12. 2.6 14 km NNE of Fortine, Montana
  13. 2.1 5 km NNE of Olney, Montana
  14. 1.5 0 km NW of Eureka, Montana
  15. 2.6 3 km N of Midvale, 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.