QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Challis, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Challis in the 24 hours to 8:42 pm MST (03:42 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) west of Challis, ID, at 11:10 pm MST on 8 January 2023 (06:10 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 34 km W of Challis, Idaho

11:10 pm MST, Jan 8, 2023 · · 17 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Custer County 43 kmLemhi County 76 kmValley County 84 kmBoise County 103 kmCamas County 114 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
11:10 pm MST on 8 January 2023 ()
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 2.6 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Custer County, 43 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1334 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 16 km (10 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.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. 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 6.5 on 2020-03-31 — about 710,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 37 km N of Stanley, Idaho · 19 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 44 km NNW of Stanley, Idaho · 35 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 9 km SE of Challis, Idaho · 42 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 9 km E of Challis, Idaho · 44 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 44.5287, -114.6635. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Custer County, ID 43 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Custer County
Lemhi County, ID 76 km (47 mi) NE earthquakes near Lemhi County
Valley County, ID 84 km (52 mi) WNW earthquakes near Valley County
Boise County, ID 103 km (64 mi) SW earthquakes near Boise County
Camas County, ID 114 km (71 mi) S earthquakes near Camas County
Butte County, ID 151 km (94 mi) SE earthquakes near Butte 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. 2.3 12 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
  2. 2.4 13 km NNE of Stanley, Idaho
  3. 1.6 28 km WNW of Challis, Idaho
  4. 1.9 11 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
  5. 1.5 36 km W of Challis, Idaho
  6. 1.7 11 km NE of Stanley, Idaho
  7. 2.4 20 km WNW of Stanley, Idaho
  8. 2.3 11 km ENE of Stanley, Idaho
  9. 1.6 33 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
  10. 2.1 southern Idaho
  11. 2.3 21 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
  12. 1.9 30 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  13. 2.1 30 km NW of Stanley, Idaho
  14. 1.7 21 km NNW of Challis, Idaho
  15. 2.3 19 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.