QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 9:48 am MST (16:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 11 km (7 mi) NNW, at 1:21 am MDT on 8 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Yellowstone

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) east of West Yellowstone, MT, at 5:12 am MST on 15 January 2019 (12:12 UTC), 2.9 km deep.

USGS: 39 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming

5:12 am MST, Jan 15, 2019 · · 2.9 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Teton County 67 kmPark County 73 kmPark County 90 kmFremont County 93 kmGallatin County 110 kmTeton County 115 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
5:12 am MST on 15 January 2019 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) east of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Teton County, 67 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Eagle Bay fault, 16 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 2857 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 4.4 on 2017-06-16 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 35 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 28 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 14 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 13 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 32 km NW 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 44.6518, -110.4883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Teton County, WY 67 km (42 mi) S earthquakes near Teton County
Park County, WY 73 km (45 mi) ESE earthquakes near Park County
Park County, MT 90 km (56 mi) N earthquakes near Park County
Fremont County, ID 93 km (58 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fremont County
Gallatin County, MT 110 km (68 mi) NNW earthquakes near Gallatin County
Teton County, ID 115 km (71 mi) SSW earthquakes near Teton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 21 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 1.9 21 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  3. 2.4 47 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  4. 1.6 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  5. 1.7 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  6. 1.9 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  7. 2.5 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  8. 1.9 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  9. 1.9 18 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  10. 1.7 58 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  11. 1.6 25 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  12. 1.6 46 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  13. 2.4 47 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  14. 2.1 49 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  15. 1.5 42 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming

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.