Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 7:11 am MST (14:11 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) north-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 4:32 pm MST on 8 December 2020 (23:32 UTC), 7.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
- When
- 4:32 pm MST on 8 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) north-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
- Montana today
- every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Fremont County, 72 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Red Canyon fault, 1 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 2098 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 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 14 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 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 280 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 55,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 39,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 280 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 380 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 15 km W of this epicentre
- 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 10 km E of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 13 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 20 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 33 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 44.7748, -111.0175. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fremont County, ID | 72 km (45 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 83 km (52 mi) | N | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Park County, MT | 85 km (53 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Park County |
| Madison County, MT | 93 km (58 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Teton County, WY | 93 km (58 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Teton County, ID | 114 km (71 mi) | S | earthquakes near Teton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 28 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.4 27 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.1 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.1 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.5 38 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.0 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 28 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.4 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.5 28 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 27 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.7 Wyoming
- 1.5 25 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.0 28 km S of Mammoth, 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.