Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6mwr
Earthquake near Challis, ID
No earthquake was likely felt in Challis in the 24 hours to 1:21 pm MST (20:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (6 mi) SSW, at 1:32 am MDT on 17 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Challis
This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) west of Challis, ID, at 8:34 am MDT on 16 March 2021 (14:34 UTC), 14 km deep.
USGS: 33 km W of Challis, Idaho
- When
- 8:34 am MDT on 16 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) west of Challis, ID · earthquakes near Challis
- Idaho today
- every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (mwr)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Custer County, 44 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1995 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Challis, ID
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Challis, ID. 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 68 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Challis, 34 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: Challis 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
- 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 37 km N of Stanley, Idaho · 19 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho · 35 km W of this epicentre
- 5.1 9 km SE of Challis, Idaho · 41 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.0 9 km E of Challis, Idaho · 43 km E 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 44.5512, -114.6529. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, ID | 44 km (28 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Custer County |
| Lemhi County, ID | 74 km (46 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lemhi County |
| Valley County, ID | 83 km (52 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Valley County |
| Boise County, ID | 105 km (65 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Boise County |
| Camas County, ID | 117 km (73 mi) | S | earthquakes near Camas County |
| Butte County, ID | 152 km (95 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Butte County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 10 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho
- 2.2 26 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
- 2.4 27 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.6 27 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.6 30 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
- 2.0 12 km ENE of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.9 22 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
- 2.0 24 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.8 18 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.6 21 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.5 26 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.5 30 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
- 2.9 18 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.9 25 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
- 1.9 23 km WNW of Stanley, 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
- 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.