QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Columbia Falls, MT

USGS: 2 km NNW of Columbia Falls, Montana

9:58 pm MDT, Mar 15, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Columbia Falls Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 15 kmLake County 83 kmGlacier County 95 kmLincoln County 96 kmSanders County 102 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
9:58 pm MDT on 15 March 2020 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) NNW of Columbia Falls, MT · earthquakes near Columbia Falls
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Flathead County, 15 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2316 days ago

A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) NNW of Columbia Falls, MT, at 9:58 pm MDT on 15 March 2020 (03:58 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Whitefish, Evergreen, Kalispell.

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

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 48.3902, -114.1903. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 15 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lake County, MT 83 km (52 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Glacier County, MT 95 km (59 mi) ENE earthquakes near Glacier County
Lincoln County, MT 96 km (59 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Sanders County, MT 102 km (63 mi) SW earthquakes near Sanders County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 5 km SSW of West Glacier, Montana
  2. 1.8 12 km NE of Forest Hill Village, Montana
  3. 1.9 12 km ESE of Evergreen, Montana
  4. 1.6 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  5. 1.7 1 km S of Woods Bay, Montana
  6. 2.1 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  7. 1.6 6 km SW of Woods Bay, Montana
  8. 1.7 30 km ESE of Martin City, Montana
  9. 2.3 6 km NNE of Olney, Montana
  10. 2.3 10 km NNW of Swan Lake, Montana
  11. 1.7 15 km NNE of Bigfork, Montana
  12. 1.7 5 km ESE of Lakeside, Montana
  13. 1.5 8 km ESE of Woods Bay, Montana
  14. 1.6 3 km NNE of Somers, Montana
  15. 2.0 1 km ENE of Columbia Falls, 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.