QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 9:52 am MST (16:52 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) east-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 6:04 pm MST on 23 December 2018 (01:04 UTC), 5.1 km deep.

USGS: 17 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana

6:04 pm MST, Dec 23, 2018 · · 5.1 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 64 kmTeton County 73 kmTeton County 98 kmPark County 99 kmGallatin County 103 kmPark County 104 kmMadison County 110 kmMadison 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
6:04 pm MST on 23 December 2018 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) east-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
5.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 64 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Red Canyon fault, 19 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 2877 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 17 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 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 7,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 31 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 17 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 23 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 6 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 28 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 44.6110, -110.8993. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 64 km (40 mi) SW earthquakes near Fremont County
Teton County, WY 73 km (45 mi) SSE earthquakes near Teton County
Teton County, ID 98 km (61 mi) SSW earthquakes near Teton County
Park County, MT 99 km (62 mi) NNE earthquakes near Park County
Gallatin County, MT 103 km (64 mi) NNW earthquakes near Gallatin County
Park County, WY 104 km (65 mi) E earthquakes near Park 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. 1.9 25 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 1.8 15 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  3. 1.7 21 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  4. 1.6 49 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  5. 1.7 61 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  6. 1.5 15 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  7. 1.5 23 km ESE of Island Park, Idaho
  8. 2.8 31 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  9. 1.6 45 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  10. 1.8 45 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  11. 1.9 49 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  12. 1.6 42 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  13. 1.7 6 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  14. 1.5 46 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  15. 1.6 12 km NE of West Yellowstone, 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.