QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Montpelier, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Montpelier in the 24 hours to 2:45 am MST (09:45 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Montpelier, ID, at 11:21 am MDT on 21 July 2020 (17:21 UTC), 3.4 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SW of Bloomington, Idaho

59 km (37 mi) NE of Logan, UT

11:21 am MDT, Jul 21, 2020 · · 3.4 km deep · released about 100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bear Lake County 15 kmFranklin County 32 kmCache County 55 kmLincoln County 62 kmRich County 63 kmCaribou County 69 kmBannock County 87 kmOneida County 90 kmWeber County 107 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
11:21 am MDT on 21 July 2020 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) southwest of Montpelier, ID · earthquakes near Montpelier
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
3.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bear Lake County, 15 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Western Bear Lake fault, 3 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 2305 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Montpelier, 20 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 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 100 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 5.0 on 2017-09-10 — about 9,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 8 km W of Garden City, Utah · 27 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 16 km ENE of North Logan, Utah · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 2 km S of Richmond, Utah · 44 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 42.1733, -111.4342. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bear Lake County, ID 15 km (9 mi) NE earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Franklin County, ID 32 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Franklin County
Cache County, UT 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cache County
Lincoln County, WY 62 km (39 mi) E earthquakes near Lincoln County
Rich County, UT 63 km (39 mi) SSE earthquakes near Rich County
Caribou County, ID 69 km (43 mi) N earthquakes near Caribou County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 16 km ENE of Georgetown, Idaho
  2. 1.5 20 km NW of Paris, Idaho
  3. 2.1 12 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  4. 1.8 16 km WSW of Georgetown, Idaho
  5. 2.4 17 km WSW of Georgetown, Idaho
  6. 1.7 10 km WSW of Garden, Utah
  7. 2.3 10 km WSW of Garden, Utah
  8. 1.6 10 km WSW of Garden, Utah
  9. 1.6 10 km WSW of Garden, Utah
  10. 1.7 8 km W of Bennington, Idaho
  11. 1.7 5 km NW of Georgetown, Idaho
  12. 1.8 7 km WNW of Georgetown, Idaho
  13. 1.7 12 km W of Bloomington, Idaho
  14. 2.1 13 km ESE of Soda Springs, Idaho
  15. 1.7 2 km WNW of Franklin, 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.