QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Dillon, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in Dillon in the 24 hours to 6:05 am MST (13:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 14 km (9 mi) N, at 2:45 pm MDT on 7 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Dillon

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Dillon, MT, at 4:05 am MST on 26 January 2026 (11:05 UTC), 5.1 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Dillon, Montana

4:05 am MST, Jan 26, 2026 · · 5.1 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Beaverhead County 31 kmMadison County 52 kmSilver Bow County 68 kmDeer Lodge County 100 kmJefferson County 101 kmLemhi County 111 kmClark County 112 kmGallatin 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
4:05 am MST on 26 January 2026 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Dillon, MT · earthquakes near Dillon
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
5.1 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Beaverhead County, 31 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 204 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Dillon, 10 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: Dillon 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4.1 on 2024-10-07 — about 250 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 16 km N of Dillon, Montana · 9 km NNW 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 45.2893, -112.5707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Beaverhead County, MT 31 km (19 mi) SW earthquakes near Beaverhead County
Madison County, MT 52 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Madison County
Silver Bow County, MT 68 km (42 mi) N earthquakes near Silver Bow County
Deer Lodge County, MT 100 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Deer Lodge County
Jefferson County, MT 101 km (63 mi) NNE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Lemhi County, ID 111 km (69 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lemhi County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.4 19 km N of Dillon, Montana
  2. 1.0 11 km WSW of Sheridan, Montana
  3. 2.1 15 km ENE of Twin Bridges, Montana
  4. 1.9 19 km NNE of Dillon, Montana
  5. 2.0 15 km NNE of Dillon, Montana
  6. 2.1 26 km SE of Dillon, Montana
  7. 2.3 14 km NNE of Twin Bridges, Montana
  8. 2.9 14 km NNE of Twin Bridges, Montana
  9. 1.8 14 km NNE of Twin Bridges, Montana
  10. 2.0 13 km N of Dillon, Montana
  11. 1.6 11 km NNE of Dillon, 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.