QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 9:45 am MST (16:45 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 2:45 am MDT on 31 March 2020 (08:45 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: Wyoming

2:45 am MDT, Mar 31, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 58 kmTeton County 74 kmTeton County 94 kmPark County 103 kmMadison County 104 kmGallatin County 105 kmPark County 110 kmMadison County 110 kmClark County 114 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
2:45 am MDT on 31 March 2020 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) southeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 58 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Red Canyon fault, 20 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 2416 days ago

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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 13 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 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 150 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 · 29 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 26 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 13 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 34 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 44.5877, -110.9752. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 58 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near Fremont County
Teton County, WY 74 km (46 mi) SE earthquakes near Teton County
Teton County, ID 94 km (58 mi) SSW earthquakes near Teton County
Park County, MT 103 km (64 mi) NNE earthquakes near Park County
Madison County, ID 104 km (65 mi) SSW earthquakes near Madison County
Gallatin County, MT 105 km (65 mi) N 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. 1.7 19 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 1.7 18 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  3. 2.8 19 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  4. 1.6 18 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  5. 1.6 18 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  6. 1.8 19 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  7. 1.5 16 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  8. 2.2 4 km SSE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  9. 2.8 16 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  10. 1.6 26 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  11. 1.7 24 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  12. 1.7 25 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  13. 1.7 25 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  14. 1.7 25 km ENE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  15. 1.8 25 km ENE 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.