Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
67 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 67 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana, at 9:57 am MST on 6 December 2020 (16:57 UTC), 5.2 km deep.
- When
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Teton County, 44 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Buffalo Fork 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 2165 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. 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 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 51 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana · 16 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 23 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 62 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana · 6 km W 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 44.4320, -110.3170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton County, WY | 44 km (27 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Park County, WY | 58 km (36 mi) | E | earthquakes near Park County |
| Fremont County, ID | 96 km (60 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Teton County, ID | 103 km (64 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Park County, MT | 116 km (72 mi) | N | earthquakes near Park County |
| Madison County, ID | 129 km (80 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Madison 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.
- 1.5 50 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.6 35 km S of Silver Gate, Montana
- 2.7 36 km S of Silver Gate, Montana
- 1.7 57 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.5 56 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.0 55 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.3 55 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.5 55 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 56 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.0 28 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.1 28 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.2 27 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.7 48 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 35 km SSW of Silver Gate, Montana
- 2.1 65 km NNE of Kelly, 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.