QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 3:01 pm MST (22:01 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) north-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 9:30 pm MDT on 9 May 2020 (03:30 UTC), 7.6 km deep.

USGS: 15 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana

9:30 pm MDT, May 9, 2020 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 5.9 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 75 kmGallatin County 81 kmPark County 83 kmMadison County 93 kmTeton County 95 kmPark County 116 kmTeton County 116 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
9:30 pm MDT on 9 May 2020 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) north-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 75 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Red Canyon fault, 4 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 2375 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 7 km (4 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 5.9 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 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 18,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 16 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 9 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 11 km E of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 21 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 32 km E 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 44.7952, -110.9990. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 75 km (46 mi) SSW earthquakes near Fremont County
Gallatin County, MT 81 km (51 mi) N earthquakes near Gallatin County
Park County, MT 83 km (51 mi) NNE earthquakes near Park County
Madison County, MT 93 km (58 mi) NW earthquakes near Madison County
Teton County, WY 95 km (59 mi) SSE earthquakes near Teton County
Park County, WY 116 km (72 mi) ESE earthquakes near Park County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 23 km WSW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  2. 1.6 12 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  3. 1.5 41 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  4. 2.3 20 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  5. 1.6 10 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  6. 1.7 Wyoming
  7. 2.6 26 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  8. 2.4 26 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  9. 2.4 26 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  10. 1.6 Idaho-Montana border region
  11. 1.7 4 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  12. 1.6 41 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  13. 1.6 42 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  14. 2.1 42 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  15. 1.7 19 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.