QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Ronan, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Ronan in the 24 hours to 8:32 am MST (15:32 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 20 km (12 mi) SE, at 4:57 am MST on 19 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ronan

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Ronan, MT, at 4:57 am MST on 19 January 2026 (11:57 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 13 km ESE of Kicking Horse, Montana

4:57 am MST, Jan 19, 2026 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 29 kmMissoula County 42 kmMineral County 94 kmPowell County 97 kmFlathead County 99 kmSanders County 103 kmGranite County 118 kmLewis and Clark County 120 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
4:57 am MST on 19 January 2026 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) southeast of Ronan, MT · earthquakes near Ronan
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 29 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Mission fault, 7 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 207 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Ronan, 20 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Pablo.

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

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 47.4090, -113.9104. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, MT 29 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lake County
Missoula County, MT 42 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Missoula County
Mineral County, MT 94 km (58 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mineral County
Powell County, MT 97 km (60 mi) SE earthquakes near Powell County
Flathead County, MT 99 km (62 mi) N earthquakes near Flathead County
Sanders County, MT 103 km (64 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sanders County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.4 16 km NW of Old Agency, Montana
  2. -0.0 19 km E of Finley Point, Montana
  3. 0.9 15 km SE of Condon, Montana
  4. 0.9 9 km WSW of Condon, Montana
  5. 3.2 3 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana
  6. 1.9 15 km N of Seeley Lake, Montana
  7. 1.9 18 km E of Saint Ignatius, Montana
  8. 2.4 9 km SSW of Bear Dance, Montana
  9. 1.8 17 km SSE of Swan Lake, 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.