QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

56 km SSW of Silver Gate, Montana

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 56 km SSW of Silver Gate, Montana, at 5:58 am MDT on 12 August 2019 (11:58 UTC), 6.8 km deep.

· 6.8 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Park County 50 kmTeton County 56 kmFremont County 106 kmPark County 107 kmTeton County 117 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
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Park County, 50 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Eagle Bay fault, 14 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 2648 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. 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 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 39 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 20 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 51 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana · 22 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 23 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 62 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana · 18 km SW 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 44.5288, -110.2173. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Park County, WY 50 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Park County
Teton County, WY 56 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near Teton County
Fremont County, ID 106 km (66 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fremont County
Park County, MT 107 km (66 mi) NNW earthquakes near Park County
Teton County, ID 117 km (72 mi) SW earthquakes near Teton County
Carbon County, MT 121 km (75 mi) NE earthquakes near Carbon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 50 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 1.6 46 km SE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  3. 2.8 36 km S of Silver Gate, Montana
  4. 2.1 Wyoming
  5. 1.6 22 km SE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  6. 2.1 27 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming
  7. 1.5 58 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  8. 2.1 56 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  9. 1.6 40 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  10. 1.6 39 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  11. 2.2 39 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  12. 2.0 39 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  13. 1.7 Wyoming
  14. 1.7 39 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  15. 1.7 49 km SE 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.