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 9:53 am MST (16:53 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 46 km (29 mi) southeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 4:34 am MDT on 12 September 2020 (10:34 UTC), 4.3 km deep.
USGS: 46 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- When
- 4:34 am MDT on 12 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) southeast 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
- 4.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Teton County, 43 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- East Mount Sheridan faults, 12 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 2248 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
- 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 31 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 25 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 41 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 44.4075, -110.6402. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton County, WY | 43 km (27 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Fremont County, ID | 70 km (44 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Park County, WY | 84 km (52 mi) | E | earthquakes near Park County |
| Teton County, ID | 85 km (53 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Madison County, ID | 106 km (66 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Park County, MT | 118 km (73 mi) | N | earthquakes near Park 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.
- 2.6 68 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.7 67 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.9 67 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.4 68 km SSW of Silver Gate, Montana
- 2.0 45 km NE of Alta, Wyoming
- 2.1 68 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.7 68 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.9 67 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.5 68 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.8 68 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.5 68 km SSW of Silver Gate, Montana
- 2.0 67 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.6 66 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.1 66 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.6 Wyoming
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.