mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Lame Deer, MT
USGS: 11 km NE of Lame Deer, Montana
- When
- 4:04 pm MDT on 11 April 2022 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) NE of Lame Deer, MT · earthquakes near Lame Deer
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Rosebud County, 56 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1565 days ago
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) NE of Lame Deer, MT, at 4:04 pm MDT on 11 April 2022 (22:04 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Colstrip.
USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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
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 45.6793, -106.5474. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosebud County, MT | 56 km (35 mi) | N | earthquakes near Rosebud County |
| Big Horn County, MT | 81 km (51 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Big Horn County |
| Powder River County, MT | 83 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Powder River County |
| Treasure County, MT | 83 km (52 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Treasure County |
| Custer County, MT | 101 km (63 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Custer County |
| Sheridan County, WY | 103 km (64 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sheridan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.0 18 km WSW of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.0 9 km WSW of Colstrip, Montana
- 2.8 13 km W of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.2 12 km NW of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.0 14 km W of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.2 19 km N of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.0 16 km W of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.1 11 km SW of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.2 17 km SW of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.3 12 km SW of Colstrip, Montana
- 2.9 10 km SSE of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.3 15 km SE of Colstrip, Montana
- 2.9 13 km NNW of Muddy, Montana
- 2.9 10 km WSW of Colstrip, Montana
- 3.2 8 km NNE of Colstrip, 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.