QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Bozeman, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Bozeman in the 24 hours to 9:47 am MST (16:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 17 km (10 mi) NW, at 7:42 am MDT on 1 June 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 20 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bozeman

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) west of Bozeman, MT, at 10:08 am MDT on 14 March 2020 (16:08 UTC), 2.7 km deep.

USGS: 14 km ESE of Harrison, Montana

44 km (27 mi) W of Bozeman, MT

10:08 am MDT, Mar 14, 2020 · · 2.7 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bozeman Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Gallatin County 38 kmMadison County 44 kmJefferson County 62 kmBroadwater County 75 kmSilver Bow County 85 kmPark County 87 kmBeaverhead County 116 kmMeagher 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
10:08 am MDT on 14 March 2020 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) west of Bozeman, MT · earthquakes near Bozeman
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
2.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Gallatin County, 38 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Madison fault, 24 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 2356 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Bozeman, 45 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Three Forks.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4.2 on 2019-08-16 — about 500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.6 The 1925 Clarkston Valley, Montana Earthquake · 47 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 47 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 47 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 47 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 47 km N 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 45.6595, -111.6129. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Gallatin County, MT 38 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Gallatin County
Madison County, MT 44 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Madison County
Jefferson County, MT 62 km (39 mi) NNW earthquakes near Jefferson County
Broadwater County, MT 75 km (47 mi) N earthquakes near Broadwater County
Silver Bow County, MT 85 km (53 mi) WNW earthquakes near Silver Bow County
Park County, MT 87 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Park County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 3 km W of Pony, Montana
  2. 1.9 12 km NNW of Ennis, Montana
  3. 2.2 12 km NNW of Ennis, Montana
  4. 2.3 16 km SSW of Radersburg, Montana
  5. 1.6 15 km ESE of Harrison, Montana
  6. 1.8 2 km N of Pony, Montana
  7. 1.5 7 km NNE of Big Sky, Montana
  8. 2.2 2 km SE of Three Forks, Montana
  9. 1.6 5 km SW of Ponderosa Pines, Montana
  10. 2.2 5 km WSW of Ponderosa Pines, Montana
  11. 1.6 17 km W of Pony, Montana
  12. 1.5 7 km WSW of Ennis, Montana
  13. 1.6 13 km NNW of Ennis, Montana
  14. 2.1 13 km NNW of Ennis, Montana
  15. 2.3 13 km NNW of Ennis, 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.