QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6ml

46 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho

Yes. A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho, at 12:40 pm MST on 11 December 2020 (19:40 UTC), 11 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 11 km deep · released about 3.8 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Valley County 43 kmBoise County 77 kmCuster County 85 kmAdams County 103 kmGem County 110 kmLemhi County 113 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
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Valley County, 43 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2090 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 68 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. 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 3.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× more

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 6.5 on 2020-03-31 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 37 km N of Stanley, Idaho · 26 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho · 12 km ENE 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 44.5826, -115.2287. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Valley County, ID 43 km (27 mi) NW earthquakes near Valley County
Boise County, ID 77 km (48 mi) SSW earthquakes near Boise County
Custer County, ID 85 km (53 mi) ESE earthquakes near Custer County
Adams County, ID 103 km (64 mi) WNW earthquakes near Adams County
Gem County, ID 110 km (68 mi) WSW earthquakes near Gem County
Lemhi County, ID 113 km (70 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lemhi 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. 2.8 30 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  2. 1.7 12 km W of Stanley, Idaho
  3. 2.3 10 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
  4. 1.6 33 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  5. 1.8 42 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
  6. 2.2 20 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  7. 2.2 24 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  8. 2.0 20 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  9. 1.7 13 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  10. 1.7 20 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  11. 1.8 25 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  12. 1.6 34 km NNE of Lowman, Idaho
  13. 2.1 33 km NNE of Lowman, Idaho
  14. 2.1 34 km NNE of Lowman, Idaho
  15. 3.0 35 km NNE of Lowman, Idaho

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.