Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Sun Prairie, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Sun Prairie in the 24 hours to 1:29 am MST (08:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 12 km (8 mi) ENE, at 7:40 am MDT on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 176 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sun Prairie
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) southwest of Sun Prairie, MT, at 7:31 pm MDT on 9 May 2024 (01:31 UTC), 26 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km WSW of Cascade, Montana
52 km (32 mi) WSW of Great Falls, MT
- When
- 7:31 pm MDT on 9 May 2024 ()
- Where
- 44 km (27 mi) southwest of Sun Prairie, MT · earthquakes near Sun Prairie
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 26 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Cascade County, 40 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 843 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sun Prairie, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sun Prairie, MT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Sun Prairie, 44 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
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 47.2475, -111.8726. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade County, MT | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near Cascade County |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 41 km (25 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Lewis and Clark County |
| Teton County, MT | 71 km (44 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Powell County, MT | 92 km (57 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Powell County |
| Meagher County, MT | 103 km (64 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Meagher County |
| Broadwater County, MT | 106 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
15 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.1 14 km NNE of Marysville, Montana
- 1.3 20 km NNE of Marysville, Montana
- 1.6 23 km SSE of Augusta, Montana
- 1.5 16 km NE of Helena Valley Northwest, Montana
- 1.6 14 km SSE of Craig, Montana
- 2.4 21 km SSE of Craig, Montana
- 2.0 20 km NNE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- 1.6 6 km SE of Craig, Montana
- 2.5 23 km SSE of Craig, Montana
- 1.9 23 km SSE of Craig, Montana
- 2.1 22 km NNE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- 1.6 14 km NNE of Marysville, Montana
- 2.5 5 km N of Craig, Montana
- 1.7 3 km NNE of Craig, Montana
- 2.0 22 km SSE of Craig, 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
- 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.