Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 10:02 am MST (17:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 11 km (7 mi) NNW, at 1:21 am MDT on 8 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Yellowstone

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) west-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT, at 3:48 am MST on 28 February 2020 (10:48 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 27 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana

3:48 am MST, Feb 28, 2020 · 2020-02-28 10:48 UTC · 11 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 3:48 am MST on 28 February 2020 (2020-02-28 10:48 UTC)
Where: 38 km (23 mi) west-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today: every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude: M 2.6 (ml)
Depth: 11 km below the surface
Felt: 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest: Fremont County, 65 km S
Nearest mapped fault: Madison fault, 6 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2367 days ago · we first saw it 2367 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 West Yellowstone, 38 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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 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.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2017-06-16 — about 440 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 27 km E of this epicentre Aug 18, 1959
6.1 30 km SSW of Big Sky, Montana · 27 km N of this epicentre Nov 23, 1947
5.2 32 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 9 km NNW of this epicentre Oct 21, 1964
5.2 26 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 6 km NNE of this epicentre Mar 11, 1977
5.0 31 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana · 4 km WNW of this epicentre Aug 19, 1959

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID	65 km (40 mi)	S	earthquakes near Fremont County
Madison County, MT	65 km (41 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Madison County
Gallatin County, MT	85 km (53 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Gallatin County
Clark County, ID	86 km (54 mi)	SW	earthquakes near Clark County
Park County, MT	108 km (67 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Park County
Beaverhead County, MT	113 km (70 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Beaverhead County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.0 22 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 12:50 UTC
1.8 46 km NNE of Spencer, Idaho 04:38 UTC
2.2 1 km SSW of West Yellowstone, Montana 07:18 UTC
2.1 1 km SSW of West Yellowstone, Montana 00:56 UTC
2.3 1 km SW of West Yellowstone, Montana 12:30 UTC
1.5 8 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 13:47 UTC
1.6 8 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 17:21 UTC
1.5 29 km S of Ennis, Montana 22:38 UTC
1.9 22 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 20:49 UTC
1.7 7 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 09:49 UTC
1.6 14 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana 18:17 UTC
2.6 13 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 23:32 UTC
1.5 26 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 12:06 UTC
1.6 9 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 13:00 UTC
3.1 9 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana 12:58 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 17:02 UTC. 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.