QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 2:56 pm MST (21:56 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) south-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 7:59 am MDT on 13 September 2018 (13:59 UTC), 3.8 km deep.

USGS: 35 km ESE of Island Park, Idaho

7:59 am MDT, Sep 13, 2018 · · 3.8 km deep · released about 29 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 46 kmTeton County 53 kmTeton County 69 kmMadison County 85 kmPark County 108 kmClark County 113 kmBonneville County 119 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
7:59 am MDT on 13 September 2018 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) south-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
3.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 46 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2981 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 37 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 29 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 520,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 370,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 33× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 29 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 3,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 46 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 25 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 24 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana · 44 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 51 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana · 40 km ENE 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 44.3510, -110.9428. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 46 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fremont County
Teton County, WY 53 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near Teton County
Teton County, ID 69 km (43 mi) SSW earthquakes near Teton County
Madison County, ID 85 km (53 mi) SW earthquakes near Madison County
Park County, WY 108 km (67 mi) E earthquakes near Park County
Clark County, ID 113 km (70 mi) W earthquakes near Clark County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 Wyoming
  2. 2.0 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  3. 2.0 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  4. 2.4 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  5. 1.6 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  6. 2.3 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  7. 1.9 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  8. 2.0 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  9. 2.0 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  10. 2.2 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  11. 1.6 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  12. 1.7 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  13. 1.7 48 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  14. 2.7 47 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  15. 1.8 47 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.