Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 10:00 am MST (17:00 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) east-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 7:09 pm MST on 14 December 2019 (02:09 UTC), 4.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 40 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- When
- 7:09 pm MST on 14 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 41 km (25 mi) east-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Teton County, 62 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Eagle Bay fault, 18 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 1604 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Yellowstone, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 60 km (37 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 41 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: West Yellowstone 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 78,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,500× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 2.2 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.6× more
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 24 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 17 km N of this epicentre
- 5.7 13 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 33 km NNW 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 44.5882, -110.6015. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton County, WY | 62 km (38 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Park County, WY | 81 km (50 mi) | E | earthquakes near Park County |
| Fremont County, ID | 81 km (51 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Park County, MT | 97 km (61 mi) | N | earthquakes near Park County |
| Teton County, ID | 104 km (65 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 112 km (70 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Gallatin 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.
- 1.5 12 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.6 34 km SW of Silver Gate, Montana
- 2.2 27 km SSW of Silver Gate, Montana
- 3.1 5 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
- 2.9 Wyoming
- 1.8 Wyoming
- 1.9 10 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.1 10 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.1 10 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.5 10 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.7 38 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.7 13 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.7 14 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.6 20 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.6 31 km ESE 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.