QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Montpelier, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Montpelier in the 24 hours to 5:44 pm MST (00:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 9:59 pm MST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Montpelier

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Montpelier, ID, at 4:05 pm MDT on 26 September 2019 (22:05 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SE of Bennington, Idaho

4:05 pm MDT, Sep 26, 2019 · · -3.1 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bear Lake County 10 kmFranklin County 50 kmLincoln County 51 kmCaribou County 52 kmCache County 80 kmRich County 82 kmBannock County 86 kmOneida County 104 kmBonneville County 118 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 pm MDT on 26 September 2019 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Montpelier, ID · earthquakes near Montpelier
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-3.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bear Lake County, 10 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Eastern Bear Lake fault, under 1 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 2600 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 Montpelier, 5 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: Montpelier 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 5.3 on 2017-09-02 — about 420,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 42.3650, -111.2752. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bear Lake County, ID 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Franklin County, ID 50 km (31 mi) WSW earthquakes near Franklin County
Lincoln County, WY 51 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Caribou County, ID 52 km (32 mi) NNW earthquakes near Caribou County
Cache County, UT 80 km (50 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cache County
Rich County, UT 82 km (51 mi) S earthquakes near Rich County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 13 km SW of Georgetown, Idaho
  2. 1.9 2 km W of Bennington, Idaho
  3. 1.9 3 km SE of Bennington, Idaho
  4. 2.6 1 km WSW of Bennington, Idaho
  5. 1.5 2 km SW of Bennington, Idaho
  6. 1.6 2 km WSW of Bennington, Idaho
  7. 2.4 1 km WSW of Bennington, Idaho
  8. 2.0 19 km SW of Fairview, Wyoming
  9. 1.8 7 km E of Soda Springs, Idaho
  10. 1.7 11 km E of Soda Springs, Idaho
  11. 1.8 13 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  12. 1.9 10 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  13. 2.6 16 km ENE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  14. 1.5 10 km ENE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  15. 1.6 12 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho

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.