Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Townsend, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in Townsend in the 24 hours to 5:28 am MST (12:28 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 9 km (5 mi) W, at 2:32 pm MDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Townsend
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Townsend, MT, at 9:29 am MDT on 21 May 2024 (15:29 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 15 km E of Townsend, Montana
- When
- 9:29 am MDT on 21 May 2024 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) east of Townsend, MT · earthquakes near Townsend
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Broadwater County, 14 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 827 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Townsend, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Townsend, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Townsend, 16 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.
Likely felt in: Townsend 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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 4.2 on 2019-08-16 — about 250 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1925 Clarkston Valley, Montana Earthquake · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Mainshock) · 40 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1935 Helena, Montana Earthquakes (Largest Aftershock) · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock) · 29 km SSW 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 46.3090, -111.3182. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadwater County, MT | 14 km (9 mi) | W | earthquakes near Broadwater County |
| Meagher County, MT | 43 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Meagher County |
| Jefferson County, MT | 61 km (38 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 89 km (55 mi) | S | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Judith Basin County, MT | 112 km (69 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Judith Basin County |
| Park County, MT | 112 km (70 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Park 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.
- 1.6 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.9 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 7 km SSW of The Silos, Montana
- 1.8 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 7 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 8 km WSW of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 7 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.9 8 km WSW of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.8 6 km NE of Three Forks, Montana
- 1.7 8 km SSW of The Silos, Montana
- 1.7 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.9 8 km W of Townsend, Montana
- 1.6 8 km W of Townsend, 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.